


Kirkwall High

by CalypsoFlora



Category: Dragon Age II, Fenris - Fandom, Hawke - Fandom, anders - Fandom, femhawke - Fandom, hawke/anders - Fandom, hawke/fenris - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:56:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2139606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalypsoFlora/pseuds/CalypsoFlora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WARNING: Underage drug abuse <br/>Maureen Hawke arrives at Kirkwall after escaping the notorious mafia who name themselves the "Darkspawn". What happens next, well, you'll just have to read to find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ready

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, feel free to ask as many questions as you like.  
> This is based in the present, yet it's more like a sci-fi present. There are still dwarves, elves, etc. I also keep Bethany and Carver alive.  
> But then why are the darkspawn not actual darkspawn? Well, I'll be honest. I don't want zombies in my fanfic.  
> I also changed the names for all of the characters. I will have a list that reads who is who.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Character List  
> Maureen Hawke-Marian Hawke  
> Breann Hawke-Bethany Hawke  
> Cameron Hawke-Carver Hawke  
> Linda Hawke-Leandra Hawke  
> Uncle Garry- Uncle Gamlen  
> Avery Vallen-Aveline Vallen  
> Mr. Colson-Knight Captain Cullen  
> Bella-Isabella (I kept it the same because it's Isabella why would I change it)  
> Mr. Arshon- Arishok  
> Vance Tethras- Varric Tethras  
> Flynn-Fenris  
> Andy-Anders (I'm pretty sure everyone uses Andy)  
> Mary-Merrill  
> Ms. Marethari same  
> Ms. Elva- Grand Cleric Elthina  
> Dr. Orson- First Enchanter Orsino
> 
> As more characters appear- the more I will add to the list.

It was awkward walking into a new high school as a junior. My mom wanted us to move so my younger twin brother and sister could have a better education. Of course she would decide to move when they were two years before becoming freshman.

But it didn’t matter, I never had a lot of friends back in Lothering. It was also getting to be a dangerous area. There is this mafia that call themselves the “Darkspawn”. They have been taking over all of Ferelden. If the police tried to stop them, the gang would just keep growing. Many people were recruited to it, which is the exact reason why mom wanted to move my siblings and me out of there. We had to travel by foot, it would be safer that way. Driving in a car would attract too much attention, and who knows what could of happened if we were attacked.

We have an uncle in Kirkwall, a place that is across the ocean the Waking Sea and into the Free Marches. It was an entirely different place than I expected.

When we arrived in Kirkwall, I was suppose to be starting my sophomore year, but it was almost impossible getting into the city. It turned out that Uncle Garry had a gambling addiction and spent all of the family savings. It also turns out our lovely Hawke estate was now for sale.

Uncle Garry told me I could either work with a group of people who smuggled drugs across the border, or work with a mercenary group.

 _Being a smuggler won’t be too bad_ , I thought. It brings in money, _and I get all the free weed I want._

It would come to being one of the worst mistakes in my life.

So all throughout my sophomore year, I smuggled in drugs such as weed, acid, cocaine, etc. I was always fast enough to not get caught. I never got to see much of the city, only most of Lowtown. Most of the smuggling was outside of Kirkwall, on the Wounded Coast.

In my free time, if I ever had any, I would paint and create my own paints using chemistry. Yes, most of it was under the influence of an acid trip, but in the end, the paintings came out awesome. I have been creating paints my entire life. If I thought about fire, I could mix the substances together to almost feel the heat from the “potion”. I would freeze my blue paint with dry ice to make snow.  I could almost feel the power throughout my hands into the brush and onto the canvas. But, that could also be because of the acid trip.

So after a year, I was finally done with the smuggling business, the mafia leader was captured and jailed by the “Hero of Ferelden”(he was just a regular dude who caught the leader of the Darkspawn). Anyway, I had more free time to hang out with Avery, my, well, only best friend. She was moving away from Orlais when I first saw her. Her boyfriend was killed by the mafia when he refused to join. She changed, now giving off a tough appearance, but I still stick by her side and make ginger jokes whenever I can. Both of us finally owned our own driver’s licenses, but Avery was the only one with the car.

So I would have to ride the bus. My two younger siblings, Cameron and Breann, begged me that if we could act like we are from somewhere else in Lowtown besides the slums. We waited at the market until the big yellow school bus picked us up and drove to our destination.

Kirkwall High School was a lot smaller than my last school. Instead of pushing through the thousand kids to get to my next class, I noticed I had actual walking space.

I approached the main office with my the twins. Avery was already at the front desk, registering for classes.

“No I do not want a theater class, I want the fencing fitness class,” she said, trying to keep her temper down.

I let out a giggle and she snapped her head towards me.

“Finally,” she said, “You should not show up late on the first day, _Maureen._ ”

“I’m actually quite early,” I replied, pointing up to the clock. It was thirty minutes before the school day started.

Avery grabbed her schedule and stood waiting for me to choose classes.

“You have seven classes per day, your seventh being fitness,” the admissions director told me, “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, since you are an upperclassman, you are allowed to skip fitness.”

I looked over the list of classes to take. When I was finished, I was proud of how I organized my classes.

 

1st period- Advanced Placement Thedas History

2nd period- Pre-Calculus

3rd period- Elven Language 3

4th period- Advanced Placement English Literature

Lunch

5th period- Advanced Placement Chemistry

6th period- Advanced Placement Art

7th period- Cross Country

 

“ _Four_ AP classes?!” Avery shrieked, “I’m afraid what you will taking your senior year! You are going to wear yourself out!”

“Not really,” I said, shrugging my shoulders, “Art and Chemistry come easy to me, Literature is just writing a whole bunch of essays, and History? You and I know both know Thedas very well. The admission director told me I will take classes from the University of the Free Marches my senior year.”

I looked at Avery’s schedule. We had AP History and Pre-Calculus together. We would not fall asleep in the first two classes.

After Cameron and Breann chose their classes, I waved bye to them.

“You guys can do this on your own now,” I said. The twins had terrified looks on their faces, but they knew I was right.

Avery and I walked into our first class and I sat in the second row of seats next to the window. Avery sat next to me on my right.

Everyone began to walk in and take their seats. I sat my bookbag next to me and waited. The nervous feeling grew as the clock ticked closer to 8 o’ clock a.m.

The bell rang. I noticed the seat in front of me was empty.

A tall handsome young man walked to the front of the classroom. He had light blonde hair cut short and blue eyes.

“I will be your teacher for this entire year. My name is Mr. Colson”

“Today we have two ne--”

The door suddenly slammed open. I girl with a very low cut short white dress with a blue rag-like belt, brown tights, and black boots walked into the classroom.

“I am guessing you are Isabela?” Mr. Colson said.

“It’s actually Bella,” the girl said, “and you are?”

“I am your teacher for this year, Mr. Colson.”

“My, you look quite young for a teacher.”

“I just graduated from grad school, yes. This is my first year.”

Bella bit her bottom lip and fluttered her eyelashes, “I was really hoping you were a student.”

Mr. Colson cleared his throat and Bella walked and sat in the seat in front of me.

“Anyway,” Mr. Colson said, “We have two new students that have just arrived in Kirkwall!”

Avery and I glanced at each other.

_Just arrived?_

“Would you like to stand up and introduce yourselves girls?” Mr. Colson asked.

We stood up and Avery started first.

“I am Avery Vallen,” she said, holding her shoulders back and chin up, “I use to live in Orlais.”

“Mm,” Bella said, “finally we have a firecrotch.”

Avery glared at Bella and sat down. It was my turn to speak.

“Umm,” I said. I was very nervous. “My name is Maureen Hawke, and I come from Ferelden.”

The classroom was quiet, their eyes on me. They knew all the news about Ferelden and how it was trying to redeem itself. I sat down quickly, looking down at my clasped hands.

“Alright then!” Mr. Colson said, trying to break the awkward silence, “Shall we begin?”

Mr. Colson began to pass textbooks onto our desks. I looked around the classroom. Students were already beginning to fall asleep on their desks.

_Why did they join an AP class?_

I looked at the very back of the classroom, and I saw a boy looking directly at me.

It looked as if he had white hair, hair that almost matched the scars on his chin that led down to his neck. He wore a black long t shirt and black gloves, obviously covering more scars. His black pants were tucked in, covered by high black boots.

I turned my head around, feeling my face burn.

I looked at the textbook in front of me, not even noticing Mr. Colson had set it down on my desk. I opened it to see an entire map of Thedas.

I looked at Avery and we both knew what each other was thinking.

_This is going to be a very easy class._

The class went by quickly, Mr. Colson only giving us homework to write down twenty facts about Thedas.

The bell rang and I walked with Avery to Pre-Calc. As we walked into the classroom, a gigantic man was already writing equations on the board. He almost looked like a giant. He had to be almost 7 feet, and his entire body was thick with only muscle. The horns did not hide what race he was.

He was a Qunari.

Avery and I decided to sit in the front this time, knowing that it would be hard to follow along with the numbers and letters combined.

The bell rang, which meant that class has started.

“Hello,” he said. He had a deep growly voice that was almost terrifying to hear.

“I am Mr. Arshon. There are certain rules you must know for this year. One, I do not tolerate tardiness. If you are late, you suffer the consequences of sitting in Superintendent Theirin’s office. Two, if do not bring in completed homework, I will send you to the Mayor Dumar, who runs as the Principal here in this school. Three, if you are sick, you still have to turn in homework. I will have another student give you a copy of the work. Are we clear?”

Though Avery and I could not see behind us, we knew that, including us, everyone nodded.

I tried to follow along as best as I could, writing notes in my journal. Ava, who was the boss of the smuggling business, had taught me math. I would help count money and separate it into groups such as paying the employees to transportation. So once again, the math came easy to me. To Avery, not so much. She would need me to tutor her, that’s for sure.

When the bell rang, signally class was over, Mr. Arshon handed out sheets of paper covered in equations we were to solve.

As I was moving to my next class, with my papers and a journal close to my chest, another student passed me, hitting me on my shoulder with theirs. Everything flew out of my grasped and landed on the floor. As I bent to pick it up, I noticed another person was helping me. I looked up to be faced with a dwarf.

“Hello there!” he said. I stood up and noticed his head was right above my hip.

“My name is Vance Tethras,” he said, “You are new, aren’t you? I was in AP History with you, but I was sitting across the classroom.”

“Maureen,” I said, taking the papers he passed to me, “Thank you.”

“No problem! Do you need help finding your next class?”

“I would appreciate that. Elven 3. Room 7.”

I followed Vance to my next class.

“Here it is!” he said, “I’ll see ya around.”

I waved back and walked in.

The teacher had tattoos all over her face. Her white hair was pulled back and she smiled at me.

“You are the new student from Ferelden,” she said. Her voice was kind and soothing.

“Yes, my name is Maureen,” I replied.

“I am Ms. Marethari. _Andaran atish’an._ "

 _Enter this place in peace._ Thank goodness I had Ava teach me when we were in the middle of a smuggle.

There was a girl in the front. She also had tattoos on her face. My brow lifted.

“Hello!” the girl said, her voice high shaky, and a slight Elven accent, “I’m Mary!”

“Maureen,” I responded. She noticed I was not just staring at her eyes.

“Oh, these tattoos are just symbols of my Dalish religion,” Mary said, once again speaking way too fast that it was almost hard to listen. I sat in the third row, now not having Avery to keep me company. She was in Qun 1, being taught by Mr. Arshon.

 _Oh I hope she survives_ , I thought.

Ms. Marethari introduced herself and then motioned Mary to stand up.

“Mary will be my TA, short for Teacher’s Aid in this class. She will help you if I am busy.”

Mary gave a short fast wave and went to sit back down in the front. I knew this would be my hardest class. Sure, I can understand the words and hear them, but I could not write, read, nor speak the language. The conjugation confused me and I knew I did not have the best ability of saying the words with an Elven accent. I breathed a sigh of relief when the class was over.

AP Lit was next, and it was taught by Ms. Elva. She was just as kind as Ms. Marethari, but she admitted it was going to be a very difficult class and that she expects the students in the class to give full effort. She said our grade was mostly based on discussion, but that also meant no debating. Ms. Elva believed that learning should be a peaceful journey. Ms. Elva was also the grand cleric of the Chantry church, a well respected position.

I looked around to see who was in my class. I sat closest to the window, which overlooked the dark city. Vance sat behind me, every once in a while reaching as far as he could to poke me in the back with his pencil.

Once again, when I looked past Vance, there was that mysterious boy again. He tapped his pen on the desk and snapped his head up, as if he knew someone was looking at him. I lifted my hand barely up and gave a small wave. He frowned, and then looked back at his desk. I turned around and began to pay attention to Ms. Elva.

 _Some people just don’t like to be social_ , I thought.

Finally, lunch was next. I could feel the gross emptiness in my stomach. Lucky for me, I brought my own lunch instead of school food. I walked to my locker and opened the door, sticking my bookbag inside and taking out my paperbag filled with a grilled cheese sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water.

As I shut the door, I turned to be facing Bella.

I gasped, not expecting her to be right there.

“It’s alright,” she said, “Your locker is right next to mine.”

I began to walk away, until I realized I did not know where the cafeteria was. Bella laughed.

“Follow me,” she said, “You can sit with us.”

We walked into the gigantic cafeteria where students chattered while shoving food in their mouths. Bella guided me to a long table; Vance sat at the head of it.

“You all have met, um, what’s your name again?” Bella asked.

“Maureen.”

“Maureen! Well, let me start around the table just in case.”

Bella pointed to Vance, “That is the midget Vance.¨

“Dwarf, actually,” he responded.

“Whatever,” Bella said, then continued clockwise, “You can sit next to Vance, and then there is your fellow new girl.”

Avery already had sat down in her seat.

_Funny how she never even tried to find me to help me find this place._

“Next,” Bella interrupted my thoughts, “on the other head of the table, is Andrew, but we call him Andy. He usually skips lunch. Mary will either take his place or she will scoot a chair next to his. Then there is me, and last but not least….”

I saw him, the boy with the scars on his chin that led down his neck. He stared down at his lunch, which was not even touched.

“That is Flynn. He usually is our Debbie Downer of the group.”

I looked away and moved to my seat, being directly across from him.

“So,” Bella said, throwing her lunch on the table, “What classes are you two taking?”

Avery said hers, and then I said mine. Bella and Vance stared at me with dropped jaws. Flynn had no reaction.

“You say it all like it’s no big deal!” Vance said.

“Well, I mean, it isn’t,” I said, “The only class I’m worried about is Elven 3.”

“Ooohh,” Bella dragged the words, “that means you have Mary, don’t you.”

“Yes,” I mumbled.

“You’ll get use to her,” Vance said, “You know, Flynn here could teach you! If you haven’t noticed, he is an elf.”

I hadn’t. Flynn’s hair mostly covered his ears, but when I looked closer, I could see the sharp points at the top.

Flynn shrugged. Vance let out a sigh.

“You really do know how to make a great impression,” Vance said sarcastically.

We ate our lunch, Bella breaking the awkward silence throughout to talk about how stupid the dress code is.

My two favorite classes were next. I grabbed my things from my locker, rushed to the classroom, and sat in the first lab table in the front. The teacher was grading papers. He has a massive receding hairline and his gray hair was thinning. He lifted his head to see me. He was also an elf

“You must be the new student!” he said. He stood up and I saw he was wearing robes. He walked to me, balancing himself with a black cane that almost was in the design of tree branches.

“I am Dr. Orson. I read your transcripts from freshman year. You took three science classes that were made for seniors. I am very impressed.”

He shook hand with mine.

“Thank you,” I said, “Chemistry is actually one of my favorite classes.”

“What is your other one?” he asked.

“Art.”

Dr. Orson’s eyes widened, “Are you in the Advance Placement Art class?”

“Yes.”

“I will have you again in that class as well.”

We both smiled at each other. He walked back to his desk and I looked at all the objects on the lab table. It had everything I needed, and I even saw some new ones that I was excited to use.

“Maureen!” I heard a voice chirp out. I looked up and saw Mary waving.

_Please don’t sit next to me._

Yes, it was a terrible way to think, but I did not want someone talking into my ear the entire class for the entire year.

She was rushing towards me, but right as she was next to the lab table, a boy smoothly took the seat. He had strawberry blonde hair pulled up in a hairband and golden brown eyes.

“Oh,” Mary said quietly, “Hi Andy.”

“Hey Mary!” he replied cheerfully. Mary slowly sulked away.

He turned back to me, “My name is Andrew, I prefered to be called Andy though.”

“I’m Maureen.”

“So _you’re_ the girl Bella told me about,” he said, “Good things of course.”

“Oh,” I said. I was going to have a talk with Bella later about this, “Thank you, by the way. For sitting next to me. Mary is just a little….”

“Too jittery?” Andy finished for me. I nodded.

Andy looked back at the elf, “She’s always like that. Jittery and socially awkward.”

“Attention students!” Dr. Orson announced, “Welcome to Advanced Placement Chemistry. We will mostly be doing lab work.”

“Yes,” I whispered. Andy chuckled.

“Is there something you wish to say Andrew?” Dr. Orson asked.

“No sir,” Andy replied, trying to keep a straight face.

“For the rest of the year, the person sitting next to you on the lab table will be your group partner,” Dr. Orson said, nodding to Andy.

“What?” I said to Andy quietly.

“Dr. Orson recommended I sit next to you. He says that you might actually be better at Chem than I am.”

“Oh really?” I said, grinning.

“I guess we'll just have to find out, won’t we?”

I smiled, obviously accepting his challenge.

“What do you specialize in?” I asked Andy.

“Mostly just trying to make medicines to help and cure others, you?”

“Well, I really like to mix Chemistry and Physics together. This is going to sound stupid, but I’ve always been interested into bending the laws of nature.”

“That’s not stupid at all!” Andy said excitedly, “Do you do anything else?”

I hesitated. The chemicals I used to make paints weren’t exactly…legal.

“I...paint. Well, okay, I create my own paints and then use them to make a certain type of 3D art style. It’s a very better way than using acrylics.”

Andy’s eyes widened, “No way,” he whispered, “Me too!”

“Really?!” I said, a lot louder than it was meant to be. Dr. Orson pretended not to hear us, as if he wanted to us to know each other better.

“I like to paint things a little bit misunderstood, like ya know, arcanic,” Andy said, “My paintings tell me to protect myself.”

 _Oh goodness, a hipster painter_ , I thought.

“I do a little bit of elemental work, but…”, I froze.

While tripping on acid and smoking a joint, I would go into these philosophical modes of the entropic world.

The Physics term-A thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.

Normal human being- Lack of order or predictability. A gradual decline into disorder.

So...most of my paintings are just either terrifying images or weird chaotic nature.

Poor mother, she really does scream when she sees my artwork. Most of the times she faints.

“But?” Andy said, bringing me back to the real world.

“Alright students!” Dr. Orson said, “In our very first class we will have a brief history of where Chemistry comes from!”

 _Thank you Doctor_ , I thought.

Andy escorted me after class to the art studio.

“Now don’t freak out,” he said, “but our art studio is pretty amazing.”

I almost thought he was just exaggerating, but when I saw the sight of where my last class would be, I almost squealed with joy.

Three walls were painted with the entire world of Thedas. There was not one gap or missing part, everything was connected. The fourth wall had long shelves that held all of the art materials. Pallets, brushes, _everything_. 

Breann was walking out of the Beginning Art class.

“Maureen!” she called out, “I just learned that I’m an expert at elemental painting!”

Like me, my sister was an artist. She was good, but she didn’t know her strengths.

I looked at her first painting she created in her first day of high school. It was watercolor, which is a very good start for beginners. Breann had used too many layers, but I could that it was a wolf in the midst of a snowstorm.

“Your sister is talented,” Ms. Marethari said, making her way out of the classroom, “She is also very patient, a very hard task for an artist I would say.”

Breann blushed at the compliment. I walked past the two and set my bookbag down onto a white table that took up most of the room. It was a rough draft table.The artist would draw their sketches, and then make their way to the easel to create their final drafts. I knew during the year we would at least have to practice pen and pencil drawing, which was not one of my favorites. There would be the still art and the self portraits. Ugh, the self portraits.

Dr. Orson walked into the studio and spoke clearly, “Everyone choose an easel and set it where ever you would like to work for the rest of the year!”

When I looked around, there were only three students, including me. Me, Mary, and Andy. I walked to an easel and set it down into a corner. It would help me focus on the task at hand, and by art would not be exposed. I scooted a chair right into the crack and sat. Though I could see the rest of the studio, no one would have to see my work. Dr. Orson did not comment on it.

“You may borrow anything on the shelves,” he spoke, “but you must return it.”

 _Well, duh_ , I thought.

“In this class, I would like all of you to paint a dragon, but only using two paint colors.”

_What._


	2. Set

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke continues her first day at Kirkwall High.

“Welcome to Advanced Placement Art, students. Begin.”

I walked to the shelves. Mary and Andy were grabbing what they needed quickly and had no trouble finding the colors they needed. Mary chose green and brown, which meant she must specialize in painting...primal nature.

Anders grabbed yellow and black paints, which surprised me because they were not not cool enough colors to do the arcanic style.

Then there was me. What were the stereotypical colors of a dragon? Well, red and black of course. That would not start me off well in the class though. So I closed my eyes and thought.

And then I saw it in my mind. A massive dragon, with a look that almost seemed humane.

I grabbed pink and blue. Mary tried not to judge, but the look was obvious. Andy shook his head in a “poor girl” fashion. Even Dr. Orson lifted a brow.

Instead of using one of the school’s paint brushes. I felt in my bookbag to bring out one of my own. It was the one Ava had given to me before I left her “business”. It wasn’t the best, but it felt right in my hand.

First I started with outlining the dragon’s body blue. On my 5 holed-pallet, one circle was filled with pink, the second blue, and the other three were different shades of purple I had made by mixing my two main colors. Time was going by quickly. It was hard making a week’s worth of art, maybe even months, into an hour class period. I mixed and mixed together, trying not to make a brown. I made a dark enough purple that it could pass for black. I saw the image of the dragon perfectly. I detailed it with spikes starting at the forehead and running the way down the back. I added scales, as if the dragon was an elder, but still very powerful. The hornes did not look right standing up straight, so I curled them to semi-circles facing each other.

_No_ , I thought, _Two sets of horns._

The second pair would be smaller, and they would come from the edges of the dragon’s mouth.

Eyes were the most important part. You can see the emotion in the eyes. I made slits, and intentionally made the color brown for the iris of the eye, yet it was so hard to see that it just looked like two black cuts. I actually liked it. The dragon did not need fully visible eyes, I know they are there, and that is what counted. Maybe the eyes were suppose to be that way. Is it actually a dragon? Or is it something much more?

_Wait a minute, it’s just a dragon painting._

“Stop!” Dr. Orson barked (not in such a rude way of course).

I did not even notice I had been sweating, but I was not the only one. My fellow classmates were also wiping their foreheads with the back of their hand.

“Mary,” Dr. Orson said, “Let us see yours first.”

Mary stood up and presented it. She had mixed the brown and green to give a darker color, and she used it to made the dragon symbol the earth. It was overcoated with the green to make it more natural. The dragon had round, kind eyes. It was simple work, but very precise. The dragon had its mouth open, the mix brown and green to make…

fire.

_Oh shit_ , I thought, _I forgot the fucking fire._

Dr. Orson moved to the next student, “Andrew, may we see yours?

Andy’s dragon was black, but what he did with the yellow was amazing. The yellow started in the dragon’s eyes, which stand for “eyes are windows the soul” saying, and began to run down its body. The yellow was each veins and ended at the end of its tail. Like Merrill’s, the painting was designed beautifully.

Andy smiled proudly. Black and yellow fire mixed flew out of the dragon’s mouth.

_GOOD JOB MAUREEN YOU FORGOT THE FUCKING FIRE. You were too damn busy admiring how much deep meaning it had that you FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING._

Dr. Orson turned his gaze to me, “Lastly, Maureen.”

That was my que. I stood up, grabbed painting on both sides, and turned it so everyone could see, covering my face with it.

“What is different about Maureen’s painting than the other two?” Dr. Orson asked the class.

There was only silence.

_THERE IS NO FUCKING FIRE._

“Where are the eyes?”

_HOLY SHIT._

“Can anyone point them out?”

_HE NOTICED THE EYE PART._

“Do you see how much more personal this is than the others?”

_THANK YOU MAKER._

“Well done, Maureen.”

The bell rang.

“Do not forget to clean your area!” Dr. Ordon called out.

As I was cleaning my brush in a sink (there was a door next to the shelves that led into the “cleaning” room), Mary started jumping up and down beside me.

“Your painting looked amazing Maureen!” she shrieked, clapping her hands quickly.

“Thanks, Mary,” I said, turning around to be facing Andy’s chest.

“Nice,” he said. He looked a tad bit jealous, glaring at me when I walked past him with my quiet, “Thanks.”

Next was my fitness, Cross Country. I asked Bella at my locker what she was doing.

“Martial Arts,” she said, “I need to practice on those critical strikes.”

“What you should do is archery,” Vance said, appearing below us. Bella rolled her eyes and waved bye to me, taking Vance with her.

I changed into my fitness clothes in the gym locker room and found my way to the track outside of the school. The football team was standing next to the bleachers flirting with the cheerleaders.

_Cheerleading is a fitness?_ I thought.

“Maureen!” I heard behind me. Mr. Colson waved his arm, “Are you in Cross Country?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Good! Go wait with the football team. When everyone arrives I just want run one mile, since it’s the beginning of the year.”

Running wasn’t too big of a deal for me. I have had to run much more than one mile from the cops before.

I walked to the busy area and saw Andy in his football uniform.

“You play football?” I asked.

“Does that seem strange?” he asked right back.

“I guess not.”

He held his helmet with both hands, “We are really trying to go for the championship win this year.”

“Well,” I said, “good luck!”

“Look who it is again!” a random jock yelled out, “It’s our little elf bitch!”

Flynn walked up. The only thing different about his clothing were instead of black pants and boots, he wore black sweatpants and sneakers.

“He hates all jocks,” Anders whispered in my ear, “He also hates being near me, since I’m an “illegal” artist, like you.”

“These guys shouldn’t pick on him,” I said. Andy didn’t reply, probably to not get to say anything he would regret later on.

One football jock walked up to Flynn and shoved him backwards. Flynn regained his posture. The jock pushed him again, and this time Flynn spit on the ground in front of him.

“Is that all you got?!” the jock asked, “I guess I’ll have to teach you another lesson!”

“Hey!” I yelled out.

“Shut up!” the jock yelled back. I rushed between the two guys as the jock pulled his fist back for a punch.

But the jock didn’t stop. Suddenly, I felt a gigantic pang in my jaw. The cheerleaders gasped.

“ _FUCK!_ ” I shouted. I clutched my jaw and forced back the tears.

“Maureen!” Andy shouted. He removed my hands from my face.

“Well it’s not broken at least,” he said.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” the jock said, “I didn’t mean t--”

“Yes you did,” I interrupted, “You just missed the wrong target.”

I moved my jaw around a little bit, it ached, but it wasn’t the worst feeling.

“We should take you to the nurse,” Andy said.

“No. I’m fine. He didn’t put full effort into it,” I said.

I heard a whistle blow.

“Cross Country, we ready to run?” Mr. Colson shouted.

I turned around and walked into the middle of the track. All the football boys began to move to the field except Andy. He walked towards Mr. Colson and whispered in his ear.

“I will not tolerate violence at this school,” Mr. Colson said after Andy finished, “and neither will Principal Dumar, send that kid over to him.”

Andy ran back to the field to deal with the matter, and Mr. Colson walked closer to me.

“I really do not want to go to the nurse,” I said to him.

“Do you feel okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Alright. Cross Country folk, lineup, and we will just be running a mile today on the track! I’ll be timing.”

I readied myself to begin running.

“Go!” Mr. Colson shouted, and I went.

I ran at a steady pace, already ahead of everyone. I already overlapped a couple of kids on my second round.

Suddenly, Flynn was next to me, keeping a steady pace along with mine. I sped up more and more, and he still ran at my side.

On the fourth lap, I began my sprint, but so did Flynn. By the time I hit the last turn he was at finish line.

When I finished through, Mr. Colson called out my time,

“7 minutes and 10 seconds! If you practice hard enough you might be able to be a couple seconds behind Flynn!”

I walked with my hands clasped behind my head. Flynn was already walking back to school.

“Wait!” I called out. He stopped and turned around.

“Nice job,” I said. I started walking next to him up to school.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, but I knew it wasn’t just for the compliment.

He finally spoke to me, which meant I could get him to talk even more.

“What was your time?” I asked.

“6 minutes and 50 seconds. Not my best.”

“Why did you slow down?”

“I wanted to run next to you.”

I felt my face burn. I waved as we walked into the school gym and separated to the locker rooms.

Bella was checking herself out in the locker room mirror. She was wearing athletic shorts, which I could see the bottom of her butt. She also wore a sports bra instead of an actual t-shirt.

“Goodness Bella!” I cried out, covering my eyes.

“We are all girls here,” she purred.

“Oh yeah by the way, you told Andy about me?” I said.

“Well yeah,” Bella said, flexing her biceps, “I just think you two would be cute, seeing that you are both are interested in chemistry and art.”

I rolled my eyes, “Bella, it is not that simple. You cannot just set me up with a dude on the first day of school.”

“Sure I can! Just give him a chance.”

I sighed and rubbed my head before I spoke, “Fine. He is my lab partner anyway.”

I changed quickly and said bye. Breann was already waiting outside the bus.

“What’s your fitness?” I asked her.

“I’m thinking about joining the cheerleading team and making that my fitness,” she murmured, knowing that I disapproved of the “fitness”.

“Why?” I said, my voice serious.

“Some of the girls are actually really nice! I know you were one your freshman year as well! Why don’t you join as well? You are way better than me!”

I shook my head. I saw Avery and Cameron walking back from fencing. Avery waved bye as she drove off in her SUV.

While on the bus, my siblings and I discussed the school day. I didn’t mention the little incident at my fitness. A lot happened on just the first day.

But when I thought about it, I actually did like this school.


	3. Go

Breann was still trying to convince me to try out for the cheerleading team when we arrived home.

“Tryouts are this Friday!” She exclaimed, “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of cartwheels and hand clapping,” I snapped, “Cheerleading just kind of changes you. I became an entire bitch because of it, which caused me to lose all of my friends.”

“But Kirkwall High is different. Those girls are super nice, especially the captain!” Breann said, still trying.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Lilley, she’s a senior.”

_Why does that name sound familiar?_ I thought.

“Please Maureen? Please?” my sister begged.

“Fine,” I said reluctantly, “but don’t hold your breath that I will even become one.”

Breann smiled and walked to the desk in our bedroom and started to work on homework.

I heard a knock at my door. I opened it see Vance, Bella, and Flynn.

“We are going on an adventure,” Vance said, “Care to join us?”

“Umm, sure,” I said, wondering how these people found my house.

“We asked your mother,” Bella said, answering the question for me, “We could tell she was your mom just by you two having the same haircut. She was more than happy to tell us, seeing you are new and need friends.”

_Friends, already?_ I thought. I was totally okay with that.

“We want to show you around Kirkwall,” Vance said, “Sure you’ve seen bits of Hightown because of the school and all, but you haven’t seen everything.”

Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me away from my doorway, shutting the door. Vance and Bella led the way, Flynn and me behind them.

“So,” I started, “What do you like to do, for, I don’t know, fun?”

Flynn hesitated, “I…usually just hang out with Vance and Bella.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. There was an awkward silence.

“I saw a painting in there,” Fenris said, “You paint?”

There was a painting right when the door opened on the farthest wall. It was one of my not so creepy ones. It was orange, with a black symbol in the center. If one looked at the symbol, they may think it was a sun, but it was the sign of entropy. A darkness lied inside of it, it was the main source of my artistic ability.

_Ugh, I’m getting way too deep in my art._

But I was happy Flynn actually noticed it, it wasn’t every day someone showed interest.

“Yes,” I replied to the elf, “ever since I was little.”

“I see,” he said, and that was the end of it.

We arrived in Hightown, where different cars drove fast along streets. There were large mansions that stood tall and wide; It made me jealous.

“Well we could take her to the Mayor’s Courthouse,” Vance said.

“I think that’s where Avery’s part time job is,” I realized.

“Then we shouldn’t,” Bella said, motioning all of us a different direction, “We are not going inside the Chantry Church either.”

“I refuse to let Maureen step into the Blooming Rose,” Vance argued.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a strip club,” Bella said, “they have the best lap dancers there.”

I lifted an eyebrow, “Aren’t you seventeen Bella?”

The rebellious teenager laughed, “Honey, it’s called a fake idea. I’ll have to make you one some day.”

“Let’s just move on to somewhere else,” Flynn said.

So the three companions showed me Kirkwall. There was the Docks which had the boats and the airport.

“They still call it the docks though,” Bella whispered in my ear, “The old generation has to realize that we are not in the age of Jurassic Park.”

We passed an area that was guarded with two Qunari soldiers at the front.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s where all the Qunari hang out,” Vance said, “Apparently humans and elves are not allowed in without good reasoning.”

Next was the Gallows, well, that’s what the nickname was all throughout Kirkwall High. Now it just held the Kirkwall prison and another building filled with politicians, but apparently its history was that people would bring slaves in to work, or to bring people to execute.

“They don’t do it anymore of course,” Bella said, “I would have to start another protest.”

“Can we leave?” Flynn growled.

“Oh yeah, you hate it here for who knows why,” Vance said, rolling his eyes.

The group brought me to Darktown, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. I coughed from the thick pollution.

“Just ignore the beggars,” Vance whispered.

“Why are we here?” I asked.

“To peak on Andy of course!” Bella chirped.

_Andy lives here?_ I thought.

We opened a door to a small family owned hospital. It was no different from outside dirtiness. I had to step over dog feces just getting to Andy’s office.

“Andy kind of owns this place,” Bella explained.

Vance opened the office door and cleared his voice to speak, “Oh Andrew! We have come to visit you! And to show Maureen around, of course.”

“Oh! Uh, hey!” Andy said, standing up from his office chair, “They have been showing you around?”

“Yeah,” I replied, trying to not look at the mysterious stains all over the ground.

“This is not the best clinic,” Andy said, “but it helps the people down here, and that is what matters.”

“What a good citizen!” Bella sung.

“Now that we’ve seen everything,” Vance said, “I think it’s time for you to have your first shitty taste of Kirkwall beer!”

“But I’m not twent--”

“Shh,” Bella interrupted, “We have "friends" who can help us with that.”

So we walked all the back to the Hanged Man, a bar relatively close to where I lived in Lowtown. Andy decided to join us as well. Right when we walked in, the smell of cigarette smoke filled my nostrils. On cue, Bella reached down and took out a pack of cigarettes from inside her boot. She walked over to a table of men much older than her and had it lit.

“If you ever want to find me and Bella,” Vance said, “we usually are here. I have my own little room actually.”

Vance was telling the truth about having a room. It seemed he was such a regular visitor that the bar had given him a suite.

We all sat around his gigantic table and I began to learn more about the two bar citizens. Vance had a brother, Brian, who just graduated from college. Vance did not talk to his parents much anymore, hence the reason why he had his own home in the bar. Bella ran away from home when she was young, and she had been traveling around Thedes ever since.

A mug of beer was set down in front of me. For some reason, I was concerned of drinking underage, yet I had almost tried every single illegal drug known to man. The difference was that I was in public, while I liked to do all of my mischief in my room or with my fellow stoners.

I lifted the mug to my lips and sipped the beer. Vance was right, it was absolutely terrible.

“How do people drink this?” I asked.

“You get use to the taste,” Varric replied, drinking out of his own mug.

“So Maureen!” Andy started, “Dr. Orson said you were at the top of the science classes freshman year, but what about your sophomore year?”

Everyone stared at me, waiting for an answer.

“Well, I had to work getting into Kirkwall for one year,” I said, “Do you guys know who Ava is?”

“You worked with _Ava_?!” Bella shrieked, “You aren’t as innocent as I thought!”

“I had enough credits to move onto Junior year,” I continued, “So here I am.”

Vance stood up, “Well, I have to do actual homework now,” he pointed to me, “I need to hang out with you more often.”

I smiled back to him and felt much happier. It felt nice making new friends.

“Flynn lives in Hightown if you ever want to see him,” Bella said.

_Hightown?_ I thought. I wonder what his parents did for a living.

Flynn was already halfway through the door to leave the Hanged Man before I could ask him any questions.

_I guess I’ll have to give it time._

I walked back to the shack that I called my home. Mom was sticking a frozen pizza into the oven.

“Did you have fun with your new friends?” she asked me.

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome,” I replied, “I can’t believe you allowed them to take me away.”

“Honey, you worked in the drug cartel for an entire year. Spending a day with your friends is a walk in the park.”

I walked into the bedroom to see Breann still working on her homework.

“Do you need help?” I asked.

“I just do not understand Geometry,” she whined. I told her basic rules and sneaky ways to use her graphing calculator. Afterwards I began to work on my own work. Ms. Elva and Ms. Marethari did not assign homework, thank the Maker. I finished AP History quickly, not even having to use the book. Pre-Calc was a bit harder than I expected, but I finished the papers, confident with my answers. For Chemistry, Dr. Orson just wanted us to study for a quiz, but for me that was like drawing an apple. _Very_ easy.

I walked to and sat down in front of my easel in the corner of the bedroom, lit a cigarette, and began to paint whatever came to mind. I thought of Flynn’s scars, and how they reminded me of vines. I dipped my brush into my homemade paints and let the “magic” do its trick. With one hand I painted, and the other I used to move the cigarette to my lips, inhale, and then outwards so I could exhale the smoke.

“You know, smoking is really bad for you,” Cameron said, crawling up the bunk bed to the top.

“You just say that because you don’t like the smell,” I replied, still focusing on my painting.

“It’s late!” he scoffed, “I can’t sleep with that stench entering my nostrils.”

I sighed and lit out my cigarette into a special hole on my pallet I used as my ashtray. Mom turned off the light and her and Breann lied down on the bottom bunk. I turned on a small lamp on top of my easel that pointed down to the painting.

I pulled myself back from the painting and studied it. The white lines connected with each other, leading down and outwards, as if there was no end. I turned off the lamp, changed into my pajamas, and walked to the couch in front of the fireplace in the main room, where a blanket was folded on top. Uncle Garry slept on the kitchen table.

I made myself comfortable on the couch and pulled the blanket over me. It really did suck being the oldest sibling and having to be the role model by not sleeping in an actual bed. Mom did not do really well as a parental figure ever since dad died, so I took over. There was no question that Uncle Garry would be the one to sleep on the kitchen table.

So I slept, having no dreams, except for the alarm clock to ring for the next morning.

I began to make breakfast for everyone. I flipped the pancakes around on the pan and made sure to make enough noise to wake Uncle Garry up. The twins walked into the kitchen looking exhausted. Mom came in afterwards with fully applied makeup and an ironed dress, unlike the rest of us with bed-head and pajamas.

I set the pancakes in the middle of the table and let everyone dig in. I used the pan again to make myself two eggs, over easy. I slipped them into two pieces of bread and began to eat the sandwich. The egg yolk broke and the warm flavor filled my mouth. I took two aspirin to calm the pain in my jaw.

_That asshole jock_ , I thought to myself.

“Prepare for school, kids,” Mom said. The twins rushed off into the bedroom while I cleaned their plates. Uncle Garry walked outside the house, not saying a word.

“Take care of yourself and the twins today, alright?” Mom asked. I yawned in reply and waited for my turn to use the bathroom.

The twins and I walked to the marketplace to wait for the bus once we were all ready. We arrived at school and I said bye to the freshman siblings. I handed my homework in to Mr. Colson as I walked into class.

“Good start Maureen,” he said, “So far it seems you, Avery, and Flynn have turned in the assignments.”

I saw Flynn looking at me, our eyes connecting. He seemed to have moved a desk up, no longer sitting in the very back of the classroom.

I took my seat and brought out my textbook and journal from my bookbag. As soon as the bell rang, Bella rushed through the door and slammed a paper on Mr. Colson’s desk.

“Bella!” the teacher said, “I am glad you made it in on time.”

“Well, I would not want to miss a second of this class,” Bella purred,“seeming it would be one less second to look at you.”

Mr. Colson cleared his throat and began to write on the board. Avery leaned towards me.

“I saw you walking in Hightown yesterday,” Avery whispered, “You didn’t hear me when I called out your name.”

Avery must have been at the Courthouse.

“Why didn’t you invite me to hang out with you and everyone else?” she asked.

“ _I_ invited her redhead,” Bella said, said without turning around in her seat, “I can’t exactly pull you out of work, can I? Besides, the sun might burn you to ashes.”

Avery held herself from making a snappy comeback. Bella grinned and turned back around to the front of the class.

The classes passed slowly. Mr. Arshon gave us double the homework, Ms. Marethari assigned us to write a one-page paper on what we did over the summer, and Ms. Elva handed us the book Chantry Hierarchy, and said we had to read Chapter One.

“She would give us a book about the Chantry,” Vance muttered.

At lunch I talked to the table about trying out for the cheerleading team.

“Do it!” Mary said enthusiastically, “It would be cute having the Hawke sisters side by side doing cartwheels and other body twisty things.”

“I’ll just be bad on purpose during tryouts,” I said.

“I think you would be a good cheerleader,” Vance said, wiggling his eyebrows, “Who wouldn’t want to see you in a mini skirt at the top of a pyramid.”

“That’s what I mean! Cheerleaders are just sticked into the “slut” category because of what they wear. “

“Nobody could be as slutty as I am sweetpea,” Bella said, winking at Flynn. I saw him grin.

“That’s for sure,” Avery mumbled.

“It would be nice seeing you cheering for us on the field,” Anders interrupted. I had almost forgotten he was sitting with us.

“What do you think Flynn?” Vance questioned. The elf sighed, knowing he would have to answer the question.

“It’s your decision.”

_Great_ , I thought. If I became a cheerleader, I wouldn’t get to run next to Flynn, but I at least would have a chance to wave at him when he ran past me.

“I guess I’ll give it a shot,” I said.

“When are tryouts?” Bella asked.

“Friday.”

“Better practice on the hand clapping and voice projecting then.”

Lunch ended and I walked to AP Chem, Andy next to me. We sat on our lab table and I opened up my journal. Not only did it have school notes, but it had many sketches that I drew while I drifted off in History class.

Andy slid my journal in front of him, “These are good!” he exclaimed.

“Eh, they are just doodles,” I replied. I had drawn art symbols, including Andy’s very own arcane style image.

“You even drew the 6 pointed star in the middle,” he said.

“Well all the symbols are sun like,” I said, “They all just have a different style.”

Andy dug into his bookbag and pulled out a sketchbook. He flipped a few pages and slid the book in front of me.

The drawing was a yellow background with a black animal skull in the middle. A yellow star rested on the skull’s forehead.

“I named it “Vengence”,” Andy said, “It just seemed to fit.”

The sketch did not necessarily make me uncomfortable, but from the short time I knew Andy, it was confusing on how he could draw such an eery drawing.

Dr. Orson’s quiz only took me five minutes, literally. It was just a whole bunch of advanced balancing equations which I had taught myself to learn my “sophomore” year. I took a page out of my sketchbook and began to draw the periodic table, my hand steady, drawing each straight line. I could see the picture in my head. Like I said many times before, science and art came very easy to me.

Andy turned in his quiz a few minutes after mine and began to draw in his sketchbook as well. Mary hesitated before turning in her quiz many times. Right before she would hand it in to Dr. Orson, she quickly would jerk it back and scribble more notes on it.

“Mary,” Dr. Orson said, holding his hand out, “I’m sure your answers are fine.” Mary sighed and turned in the paper.

“I do not understand why she freaks out,” Andy whispered, “She is actually one of the smartest in the class.” I shrugged and returned to my periodic table, finishing up the square lines.

Dr. Orson handed back our quizzes when the bell rang. I was not surprised when I saw the red A+ on the sheet.

“So are you excited to be free after art?” I asked Andy, walking to the next class.

“Football team has practice everyday,” he replied, “and as captain, I definitely have to be there.”

“Oo captain,” I said sarcastically, “You must have ladies begging for your attention.”

“Only on game days,” Andy said, “I hope you’re not the jealous type.”

“Someone else might try to steal my lab partner?”

“You will probably have to walk to art class alone. Or with Mary.”

We both laughed as we entered the art classroom. Breann gave a small wave as she passed me. I sat down at my easel and waited for Dr. Orson to speak

“Today I would like to assign you a different type of drawing style,” he said.

_So he listens to Andy and me a lot during chemistry class_ , I thought.

“I have known that Mary has a primal style, and Anders arcanic. From what I have overheard in my chemistry class, Maureen, you draw in an entropic style, correct?”

_Damn this teacher is good._

“Yes,” I said.

“Alright, I will switch the three styles to each of you. This will help you reach outside of your comfort zone. Maureen, you have primal.”

I nodded.

“Mary, you will have arcanic, and Andrew, you have entropic.”

Good luck with that buddy.

For someone who was into protection and understanding themselves, entropic would be extremely difficult.

“Using only watercolors, I want you to paint what you think would symbolize the person.”

Symbolizing Mary, it almost seemed too easy. Let’s see, she was a Dalish elf who was interested in primal. From the dragon painting painting yesterday, I could use green and brown watercolors. I thought of all the sun-like symbols used to represent different art styles.

_What if I made a sun shaped symbol for Mary?_

So I worked, curving lines carefully and leaving a small brown dot in the middle.

I looked up to see Andy talking to Dr. Orson. They were whispering to one another. Dr. Orson gave a slight nod, and Andy rushed outside of the classroom doors. Mary frowned.

_What was that all about?_

After only thirty minutes, Dr. Orson told me to show my painting first.

Mary smiled when she saw it.

“It’s beautiful!” she cheered, “Can I keep it after class?” I nodded.

Mary turned her painting around next. Though it looked simple, she did a pretty good job for giving off the protection look. It was the arcane symbol painted purple with a white shield around it.

“Can we look at Andy’s?” I asked Dr. Orson.

“I am afraid there is nothing to see,” Dr. Orson replied, turning around the hard sheet of paper to reveal the same white color. Entropic was hard, yes, but would it kill anybody to even just draw a black circle in the middle? Black circles are creepy enough.

Dr. Orson said we could have the rest of class off since Andy left. As I handed my painting to Mary, I asked her if she knew any reason why Andy left the class. She grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Dr. Orson’s sight.

“Andy has Dissociative Identity Disorder,” Mary started, “He has this alternate personality that he named Justice, which is the exact opposite person Andy is. Dr. Orson has been trying to help him control it, hence assigning something almost completely opposite of healing, but it probably triggered Andy. He will be fine. Most of the steam is let off by playing football.”

It made me feel bad for some reason, but it was Dr. Orson’s decision to give Andy his opposite style, not mine.

After class I walked to the football field to find Andy. I saw him talking to a few other players.

“Andy!” I called out. He smiled and waved when he saw me.

“Are you okay?” I asked once I was close to him, “You walked out of class and it worried me.”

“I’m fine,” he replied, “You’ll see that probably a lot more throughout the year.”

“Never happens during practice though,” said one of the football players.

“Because I am too busy wanting to tackle you!” Andy exclaimed, punching the player in the arm jokingly.

“Well, I’ll be heading off now,” I said, “I think Bella wanted to hang out.”

“See ya!” Andy said, pushing his helmet onto his head.

I met Bella in front of the high school and she pulled me next to her.

“Take a selfie with me bitch,” she said. Bella lifted her smartphone up and changed the setting so we could both see ourselves. I smiled right before Bella hit the camera button.

“Do you have a phone?” she asked me.

“Too broke for that,” I replied, “My family has a house phone, and that’s it.”

Bella sighed, “Well give me your house phone so I can call you up whenever.”

I told her my house phone and she grabbed my arm before I could walk to the bus.

“My damn sports car was stolen before I got here,” she said, “I just walk to Lowtown now. Wanna join me?”

So obviously Bella had to be rich before she came to Kirkwall, and her pride was the only thing that kept her from riding the bus.

_I would have to leave Breann and Cameron behind_ , I thought, _They are high school kids now though._

“Sure,” I said, and we began the walk to Lowtown.

“Do you want to stop at Flynn’s place?” Bella asked. I hesitated before speaking. It wasn’t polite to just barge into someone’s house without asking.

“Flynn is use to my sudden visits,” Bella said, “He doesn’t even question it anymore.”

We walked to the front of a mansion that was squished into the corner. Cobwebs stuck to the front door. Bella opened it and I followed her in.

The house was very old, or at least not taken care of well. The wallpaper was slowly ripping itself off the walls and rubble was scattered all over the ground. I heard no other noises.

“Yo ho!” Bella called, “Maureen and I have come to visit the oh so lovely Flynn.”

Bella and I walked up the stairs and before we could knock on his bedroom door, Flynn jerked it open and shut it behind him quickly.

Though he was wearing black pants, his t-shirt was a navy blue short sleeve. I looked at the vines that trailed down his arms. The scars almost looked like tattoos.

“Put on a leather jacket!” Bella ordered, “We are going to the Hanged Man!”

I heard a slight groan escape from Flynn’s mouth, but he returned with the black jacket and we journeyed on.

As we walked, Bella brought up an interesting conversation.

“You know, apparently Vance’s brother is having this expedition underground to find some fancy rocks.”

“Diamonds,” Vance added, appearing out of no where, “Whoever helps gets cash.”

“That’s cool,” I said, “I could buy back the Hawke Estate.”

“Oo, estate, but don’t forget Hawke, you are just a teenager,” Vance’s eyes widened, “ Hmm, Hawke, I like it. A pretty epic last name. Can I call you that?”

“Sounds better than Maureen.”

“Awesome.”

We arrived at the front of the Hanged Man till suddenly Bella turned left, heading for my house.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I just want to look inside Garry’s old place.”

I block her, “It’s not the best, Bella.”

“Nobody is going to judge, Hawke. We do not have the best “homes” either.”

I thought about. It was true. Vance and Bella lived in a bar, and Fenris lived in an abandoned mansion.

The companions followed me into Uncle Garry’s house. My uncle seemed surprised, but he did not say a word when he received a glare from Bella.

“Is this your art?” Vance called from my bedroom. I walked in and saw him staring at the vine picture.

_Shit._

“Um, yeah,” I said nervously, hoping they wouldn’t notice the familiar design.

“I’ve never seen paints like these before,” Bella said, lifting one of my jars filled with red homemade paint.

Flynn’s eyes widened, “Did you make these paints illegally?”

“I honestly don’t see why people freak out about it,” I said, beginning to defend myself.

“Can’t these be acidic?”

“Not if you know how to mix them right.”

Flynn walked out of the bedroom. I looked at Vance for an explanation.

“There was this dude named Danny who pretty much burned those markings into Flynn with illegal paints you could say.”

“Black henna?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

Black henna is extremely dangerous to work with. It was made with certain plants and can cause major scarring. The henna literally burns the skin. It made me shudder to think of it.

“I thought it would be just skin colored scar tissue?” I asked.

“Well when you’re an elf, it’s left white,” Bella ended.

It left an awkward silence, but Vance and Bella went to looking at my other paints on the walls. They picked up some that I had stacked in a corner. These were the ones my mother hated.

“Goodness woman!” Vance cried, “I mean, these are good, but absolutely terrifying!”

I looked at the one he was holding up.

“Oh,” I said, smiling at the painting, it was one my mother had nightmares about, “That one is what I call Horror.”

“It looks like a mix between an octopus and a skull,” Bella said.

“Well, that’s what happens when you are tripping on acid.”

The dwarf and pirate-wannabe snapped their hands to me, being shocked once again.

“You just keep surprising me, don’t you Hawke,” Vance chuckled.

Bella walked behind me and picked up my pallet and studied the ashtray hole.

“You should clean this out,” she suggested.

“What is this?” I heard Flynn call out. I walked to the main room and saw where Flynn was pointing. It was right above the front door.

“That’s my Force Art,” I said, “I am interested in bending the laws of nature. It’s impossible in the real world, so I just “paint” it out, you could say. That one is Unshakable, which pretty much means it deflects the attack of bad energy. I was inspired by dreamcatchers. You know, like how they catch the nightmares from entering the mind when you sleep.”

The painting was just a yellow circle with a brown shield with a yellow arrow in the middle. Something very easy I did in only a few days.

“ _Hipster_ ,” Bella whispered. I rolled my eyes.

“You’ll have to paint me one day,” Vance said.

“Me too,” Bella added.

We all walked out of the house, now heading to the Hanged Man.

I wonder what my new friends thought of me now.

 

  



	4. Lyrium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So AO3 deleted this chapter for some weird reason. I have no idea why.  
> I'm not back. I've been taking a long hiatus in order to get my life together and focus on college.  
> Maybe in my free time during the summer I can begin again and finish all of my fics. I hate the feeling of an unfinished fic.  
> Love you all, thank you for your support.

So the days passed to Friday. Breann and I stayed at the gymnasium instead of our usual fitness for the cheerleader tryouts. I waited impatiently, watching Breann stretch out on the floor with other girls and boys

“You’re not even going to warm up?” Breann asked. I sat on the bleachers, watching the gym clock tick.

“It’s just tryouts,” I replied to my sister, “Remember, I am only here for you.”

The gymnasium door opened, and I saw a group of students walk in. The cheerleaders, and few of the football boys, including Andy. All of the tryout girls and boys, excluding me, stood up immediately and waited in the center. I leaned back into the bleacher behind me.

I definitely recognized the captain of the cheerleading team.

Lilley, involved in a rebel group called the Coterie that rested in Kirkwall, traded with Ava time to time. We never had a conversation, but Lilley smirked as she made eye contact with me, obviously remembering me.

“It’s been awhile,” Lilley said, “Breann told me she had an older sister who was tryout out, I never thought it would be you.”

“Well, I  never thought you would be captain of a cheerleading team,” I replied.

“You two know each other?” Andy asked, looking very confused.

“A little bit,” Lilley purred, still not looking away.

“I think we should get started,” Andy said, trying to grab our attention.

I lifted myself from the bleachers and walked down the steps to the gym floor.

“Why are you guys here?” I whispered in Andy’s ear.

“Football guys also get to vote for who would cheer them on the best,” Andy whispered back.

Honestly, it wasn’t a right voting system. They wouldn’t voting by talent, they would be more focused on looks.

“Alright!” Lilley barked, “Line up people, tryouts have begun! Follow my steps to the music and cheers. We will then separate into groups and you all will repeat.”

It couldn’t get any easier. The music was for pep rallies when the cheerleaders would give performances, and the cheers obviously would be for, well, cheering.

I was put into some random people with boys and girls I had never even seen yet at the school. Out of the three groups, my group was second, and Breann’s was first.

Breann looked at me with frightened eyes.

“ _ GO Breann! _ ” I yelled out, scaring almost everyone around me. I heard Andy laughing. All the football boys and few cheerleaders were sitting on the bleachers with voting papers, Lilley the only one standing up.

My sister smiled, her shoulders relaxing. The music began. Breann was a bit early, but her movements were smooth, unlike the rest of the people who were the definition of awkward. She projected loudly during the cheers and kept her smile.

Finally Breann’s group ended and mine was next. Lilley put us in positions on the gym floor. While Breann was in the front, Lilley pointed to the back.

“I’m challenging you,” she said. Once again, I really would like to just stand still while everyone else moved, but I wasn’t just only tryout out for Breann, I was now accepting Lilley’s challenge.

So the music started and I danced along, pretending I was actually in the uniform. It helped me imagine of how much I could flow with the dance moves; I wouldn’t want the cheerleading skirt lifting high enough to show the bloomers.

Then the cheers came, and I did everything to force a smile. I looked all around the bleachers, acting like there was a gigantic crowd. The thing about being a cheerleader is that you have to pretend you love everyone in the school, so you make sure you acknowledge them while they sit and cheer along.

I heard clapping afterwards.

“Well done, Hawke!” Andy said. Everyone started to call me that now, Vance made sure of it.

I rolled my eyes and walked off the gym, the next group replacing. Breann ran up to me before I could sit back down on the bleachers.

“Even though you were in the back, you stuck out from  _ everyone _ !” Breann exclaimed, “That was amazing!”

After the last group, Lilley announced that there was a 10 minute break so she and the rest of the voters could discuss callbacks. All of the people trying out needed to leave the gym and into the main foyer inside the high school.

“ _ Callbacks?” _ I scoffed, “This is ridiculous.”

After 10 minutes, Andy walked into the foyer with a clipboard.

“These people will be called back for the gymnastic presentations,” he said. He began to call out names.

“...Breann Hawke, Maureen Hawke…”

After all the names were called, I past many crying teenagers, either for making it or not making it. I walked up to Andy.

“I hope you know,” I began, “I don’t care if  _ I _ make it on the team, I just want Breann to be on the field shaking pom poms.”

“Got it,” Andy said. We walked back into the gym where mats were lied out.

While people were stretching (except me of course), Lilley explained the rules.

“You are given two minutes to show your skills, but there are mandatory moves you must do. A round off cartwheel, a toe touch, and a handstand.”

We all sat in the bleachers. Lilley called names off from the clipboard. Some people fell down on their heads doing their handstands, and some people held their ground.

“Breann Hawke!” Lilley called out. Breann walked out on the middle of the gym and began to present. She did the toe touch and handstand easily, she even planted her feet in her back handspring. As she finished with the roundoff, she didn’t have enough speed. Breann landed right on her ass as she finished the cartwheel, but she stood up and took a small bow. She ran up next to me and wiped away tears streaming down her face.

“I just ruined everything,” she wept.

“You did perfect on everything else,” I told her, “It actually looked sort of cute. Football guys like cute.”

Breann nodded at what I told her and rubbed her eyes with her hands.

“Maureen Hawke!” Lilley shouted. I sighed and pushed myself off of the bleacher seat and walked to where Breann was standing before.

“Begin,” Lilley ordered.

I began with the handstand, but this time, I lifted one hand around my back. I somersaulted forward and jumped into the toe touch, keeping my head up. I crouched down and jumped up into a backflip, hearing a slight gasp from a student. For my finale, I started at one side of the gymnasium, and began to pick up speed.

I was not going to be on the mats.

I leaped into the roundoff, but I didn’t end it there. I pushed myself into a back handspring, then another one, a third one, moving across the wooden floor. Finally, once I became tired, I ending it all with a backflip. I landed perfectly, slightly dizzy, but still solid.

As I raised my head, I saw Vance and Bella standing right at the gym doors, clapping their hands as if they wanted the whole school to hear the popping sound.

The football boys’ jaws were dropped, along with the other tryouts, including Breann. The few leftover cheerleaders glared with jealousy, and Lilley had her smirk expression once again.

“A little bit of a show off, are we?” Lilley asked.

“I like to put in full effort,” I replied. I looked around me and saw a familiar figure. Flynn was leaning against the side of the door to the boy’s locker room. He grinned and gave me a thumb’s up. I looked away just as I blushed. When I glanced back, he was gone.

After everyone finished, Lilley walked to the middle of the gym again,“We will have the list up Monday,” she said, “If you are on the team, come to your new fitness. If you are not, just stay where you were.”

Later on, when I was walking out of the locker room with my regular school clothes on, Breann was still blabbering about how I did.

“We all thought your head would hit the ground any moment!” she exclaimed, “You were going so fast!”

“Why don’t you run to the bus?” I said, “I’m just going to go with Vance and the others.”

Breann nodded and scurried away. I walked to my locker and began to shove textbooks in my bookbag. As I was heaving the bag over my shoulder, I felt it being lifted away.

“I can help you with that,” Andy said, holding the bookbag as if it was nothing.

“Thanks,” I replied, we walked together outside the school.

“Can I walk you home?” he asked hesitantly. I nodded;The others would understand.

So we walked, I told him about how I found my way to Kirkwall and my time with Ava. We talked about art and how stupid it is how artists keep getting locked up for also making “illegal” paints.

“It’s honestly not a big deal if you know how to do it right,” Andy complained.

We arrived at the little shack that I called home.  Andy handed me my bookbag at the front door.

“You know,” Andy said nervously, “you’re welcome anytime at the clinic. I know it’s not the best place, but…”

“Sure,” I said, “I’d be happy to volunteer once in a while.”

Andy smiled and began to walk backward, slightly tripping on his own feet, which made me giggle.

“So there is this bonfire going on at the Wounded Coast tonight, want to come?” he asked.

“Vance told me about it yesterday,” I answered “He and Bella plan to pick me up tonight.”

“Oh, okay then...um, see you then.”

I smiled and walked into the house, giving a polite wave before I shut the door.

“Who’s that boy?” my mom asked, “I saw him through our window.”

_ You would be snooping mother, _ I thought.

“His name’s Andy,” I replied, “He’s a friend from school.”

I walked to the kitchen and began to make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, “By the way, there is this bonfire thing going on tonight.”

“Is that boy going?” My mother said, a grin growing on her face.

“Yes, Mom, Andy is going.”

“Be safe.”

That’s what my mother always said. Be safe. It was short for saying “Yes you can go, but don’t get murdered.”

“Can I go?” Breann any called from the bedroom.

“Absolutely not!” Mom barked, “You are much too young to be attending parties.”

“That’s no fair!” Cameron whined, “How are you even going, Maureen?”

“Vance has his own car,” I said, “and Mom is right, you guys would be the only freshman, and I would have to watch over you the entire time.”

I heard the twins groan. A few hours later I changed into a red tank top, black jeans, and black combat boots. I was slipping on a black jacket when I heard a car horn. I rushed outside and saw an old convertible sports car. Vance was in the driver’s seat, while Bella was in the passenger. Flynn sat in the back, looking as if he was in deep thought.

“Hop in!” she shouted. I pushed myself up over the side of the car and fell into the back seat. Vance had pillows stacked for him to see the window.

“Meet Bianca,” he said, “She’s vintage, but she still runs new. Isn’t that right girl?”

“Yeah yeah Vance, shut your mouth and drive,” Bella ordered.

The wind flipped Bella’s hair in many directions. Vance was shouting out sentences, but the wind covered up his voice. 

As we rode along the ocean coast, I looked at the horizon, the sun slowly disappearing, the moon ready to take its place. I looked to the other side of the car noticed Flynn was staring at me. He wore a black leather jacket over a gray shirt and black jeans. We locked eyes for a moment, until Vance slammed on the brake.

I felt myself being thrown forward, forgetting to buckle my seatbelt. Someone grabbed my jacket and pulled me back. I found myself lying awkwardly on Flynn’s arm that was now squashed against his body.

“Uh, thanks,” I said, my face flushed, “and, um, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Flynn replied, his face turning red as well.

“Sorry bout that guys!” Vance yelled, “We are getting close to the bonfire, which means there are some major assholes running around.”

“Oh, Vance, you’ll be one of those people by the end of the night,” Bella purred. I sat up straight, trying to ignore what just happened.

We parked behind the line of cars leading up to the bonfire. I slid over the side of Bianca and landed on the soft grass.

As we walked closer to the bonfire, which happened to be next to the plaque that read the history of the Wounded Coast, the colder the air became. Though I was wearing a jacket, I felt myself shiver.

“Look who it is!” Someone yelled out.

“Bow before the dwarf,” Vance replied.

I didn’t notice what Bella was wearing until she ran in front of me to sit on some random guy’s lap.

All she wore was a blue push up bra and a white mini skirt.

_ Wait, _ I thought,  _ is she wearing underwear?! _

“Hawke!” I heard a familiar voice call. Andy was sitting on a picnic table in front of the bonfire. I climbed up next to him and asked him how he got here.

“I have a car too ya know,” he said.

I looked around me. It was what I expected. Coolers filled with beer cans, people passing a joint to each other to take a hit, reggae music playing from a portable speaker, and the few outcasts apart from the bonfire eating shrooms.

“Something wrong?” Andy asked, noticing my disappointment.

“You would think this would be more...exciting,” I replied.

“It’s a great way to make friends!” he said in a sarcastically.

“Let’s not forget,” I added in the same sarcastic tone, “people like to be  _ rebels _ .”

We laughed and began to look at our other friends. Vance was playing beer pong on another picnic table. Mary sat with other elves, all of them not really knowing what to do. Bella of course was enjoying the attention from the circle of boys that surrounded her, listening to her stories of before she came to Kirkwall.

Then there was Flynn. He was lying on another picnic table, smoking a joint while looking up at the stars.

“Why does Flynn come?” I asked Andy, “He honestly looks pretty bored.”

“Bella always convinces him too,” Andy replied, “They have a close relationship. Most people think that their friends with benefits, but I highly doubt that.”

“How come?”

“Because Flynn isn’t the type to just jump in bed with anyone. Not yet anyway.”

I began to step off the table, “I’m going to see what he’s up to.”

“Good luck with that,” Andy said, frowning.

I walked over to Flynn. He seemed to be in deep thought.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked. He jumped at my voice and jerked up.

“Um, nothing,” he replied, now sitting up straight to face me.

“You look quite bored.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Can I sit next to you?”

“If you want to.”

I sighed.

_ It is so hard socializing with him. _

Once again, I was sitting up on a table, but next to a different person.

“Do you, uh, want…” Flynn said, holding his joint out in front of me. I took the joint between my thumb and index finger and lifted it to my mouth. I held the smoke in for a few seconds, and then slowly exhaled. The white smoke disappeared almost instantly in the air.

“You really don’t half-ass, do you?” Flynn said.

“Well if you’re going to get high,” I replied handing back the joint, “You might as well inhale as much as you can.”

“I agree.”

I twiddled my thumbs in the awkward silence. The feeling hit me after a couple of minutes.

_ Holy shit. _

“It’s actually pretty hard to find,” Flynn said, “Its brand name is Lyrium.”

“Cool,” I said. It had been a surprising amount of time since the last time I had been high. After Ava, I really didn’t have a way of getting my hands on any type of drug.

I began to shiver from the cold.

“Are you alright?” Flynn asked, I turned my head towards him.

“I’m, uh, umm…” I couldn’t really get words out.

“Cold?” Flynn finished. I could see a slight grin forming on his face.

“It’s been a while, okay?” I said. 

“Here,” Flynn said, taking off his leather jacket and throwing it over my shoulders, “Better?”

“Shyeah,” I replied, sticking my arms through the sleeves. I lied on my back and looked up at the stars.

“Now I see why you do this,” I said to Flynn. The stars look much brighter. It was different in Kirkwall, there was nothing to look up at, except smoke.

Flynn looked down at me. His white hair looked much brighter too.

“Why is your hair white?” I asked him. He chuckled, but did not answer.

I didn’t know how long I was looking at the stars, but suddenly, I heard a siren fill the air.

“ _ PIGS! _ ” Someone screamed. Everyone began to run to their cars, some sprinting the other direction. I jumped off the bench, my legs feeling numb and heavy. I felt someone grab my hand.

“Come with me!” Andy said, pulling me away from Flynn. He rolled his eyes. Andy and I began to run around the bonfire area, being covered by hills and rocks. 

“Where’s your c--” I said, but Andy covered my mouth and shushed me. He pulled me down and we both lied in the sandy ground.

“My car is around another hill, hidden,” he whispered. He moved his hand away from my mouth.

“What about Vance and Bella and Flynn?” I whispered back.

“I don’t want you in the same car as a drunk driver,” he replied.

“ _ AWW! _ ” I yelled. Andy covered my mouth again and rolled his eyes.

“You smoked Flynn’s Lyrium, didn’t you?”

I nodded.

“I swear he is the only one that can smoke that stuff and still function. Okay, I’m going to remove my hand, but you have to be silent.”

I gave a very exaggerated nod back. Andy once again slowly moved his hand away.

“I’m thirsty,” I whispered. Andy was now laying close to me. He smiled and moved my black bangs out of my face.

“You are also  _ very _ high,” he replied. 

Andy and I waited until we heard the cops drive away, with young sobbing teenagers in the back seats on their way to the police department.

“Ready to go home?” he asked.

“Ready Spaghetti,” I sung. Andy helped me up, hooked his arm through mine, and walked with me to his car. It was a silver sedan, a car not expensive nor cheap. Andy opened the passenger seat for me. As I sat down, I made sure to buckle my seatbelt.

_ Don’t want to go flying through the windshield, _ I thought.

As Andy drove, my mind began to clear, bit by bit.

“I’m use to smoking lighter stuff,” I said, “Like Deathroot.”

“Yeah, Deathroot is what most of us buy,” Andy said, “It gives you the right amount of “high”, you could say. Lyrium just fucks you up.”

“That’s for sure,” I replied.

There was a pause before Andy spoke again.

“You know what Red Lyrium is, right?” he asked me.

“Yeah,” I said, “I use to trade that stuff. It’s DMT.”

“You never tried, it, have you?”

“I have tried many drugs, Andy, but I knew to stay away from that one.”

_ That _ is a lie.

Dimethyltryptamine, otherwise known as DMT. A powerful hallucinogenic drug that affects the human consciousness, losing touch from reality and entering another spiritual realm. I took one hit of Red Lyrium from Ava’s crack pipe. She had thrown a farewell party for me, which was just her and me in an abandoned cave on the Wounded Coast. Ava said I reacted a lot better than most people. I had hallucinations, but one stood out from the rest.

A dragon, but not just any dragon, a dragon that was also  _ half-woman _ . The woman was old, but by the clothing she wore, she did not feel that way. This woman had given me some wise advice:

“Hurtled into chaos, you fight...and the world will shake before you. Is it fate or chance? I can never decide.”

Even now I still have trouble knowing exactly what the words mean, but the mind likes to confuse, especially those who endure a surreal trance under the influence of DMT.

What seemed like an entire day had only been 15 minutes when I became one with the real world. Ava then took me home, and we went our separate ways.

When Andy parked in front of my house, the sun was beginning to rise.

“Are you going to get in trouble?” Andy asked.

“Nah,” I replied, “When I worked for Ava I would be gone for days at a time. My mother will have a fit about how worried she was, but she’s not going to punish me. How about you?”

“I haven’t seen my parents in years,” he said, “Not since...well...let’s not talk about it.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” I said. Andy nodded and I opened the car door to leave.

“Wait,” he said suddenly, “Since today is technically Saturday, are you doing anything later today?”

“Definitely sleeping,” I replied, “but Cameron and I were going to try to find the Amell Estate’s will.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll see you Monday then, right? I have to work all day Sunday.”

“Sure.”

“Bye, Hawke.”

“Seeya, Andy.”

I shut the car door and walked up the stairs to Gamlen’s shack. I picked up the key under the mat and unlocked the door, relieved to find everyone was still asleep. I stumbled to the couch and lied flat on my stomach, too lazy to change in pajamas. Which reminded me, I didn’t notice it before, but I was still wearing Flynn’s leather jacket. I took it off, along with my other black jacket.

Before I folded Flynn’s jacket, I lifted the collar up to my nose.

It smelt like Lyrium.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Lies Part1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke and Carver search for the Amell's will, and Hawke does everything she can to escape from her stressful lifestyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY FINALLY I'M UPDATING SOMETHING  
> Alright here is more characters to add on to the list.  
> Steven-Sebastian (yes I did the usual Sebastian is the ex-boyfriend thing like in every other fic)  
> Jeff-Jethann from the blooming rose  
> I'm having terrible writer's block, so my other fics haven't been really updated because I can't think of jack shit.  
> Enjoy!

Cameron and I were walking under Kirkwall, literally . We figured that to get to the Amell Estate vault, we might as well come underneath. My brother and I knew the underground tunnels pretty well. We both worked for Ava, I just did most of the smuggling work. Since Cameron was young, he was more of the scout, checking to see if any cops or other traders were close by. Beth stayed at the house taking care of Mom.

“You never talk to me at school,” Cameron said.

“Well I’m trying to help you make friends,” I replied.

“That doesn’t mean you have to pretend I don’t exist!”  
“Well if you approach me and talked to me, I would reply.”

Cameron stayed silent.

Suddenly, we heard a crash. Before Cameron could say anything, I jerked him close to me and held my hand over his mouth.

“Stay quiet,” I whispered. There were noises in the room that we were about to enter. I listened to the conversation.

“The vault is locked sir!” A man said.

“Well I don’t have a key!” Another man spat.

“I have the key you idiots!” A third voice sneered.

Cameron muffled insults through my hand.

“Who’s there?!” I heard one of the voices shout. I pushed Cameron behind a barrel and put a finger over my lips.

“Come out!” the voice shouted again.

I slowly made my way into the room where the three men stood. One was tall and lanky, the other a dwarf, and the third one had a terrible goatee.

“What do we have here?” the lanky man said, “A young woman it seems.”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” I replied.

“That’s right,” said the dwarf, “and we are going to make sure of that.”

The tall lanky man walked towards me, “How old are you, beautiful?”

“Too young for you, pervert,” I hissed.

“Now don’t make this any harder for me,” he replied.

Before he could grab me, I kicked him in the groin.

“ _You bitch!_ ” he screamed as he rolled on the floor, his hands in between his legs. This time all three men walked closer to me.

_Time to put Ava’s training into work_ , I thought.

The goatee man tried grabbing my waist, but I crouched down and kicked him in the knee. The lanky man was up again, and this time he swung his fist, hitting me in the eye. I shrieked and lifted my hand to the excruciating pain, but there was no way I was to give up. I spat in the man’s face, and with my free hand, I punched him hard in the nose, hearing the snap. He howled from the injury and backed away. I glared at the dwarf, but he made no movement.

“Let’s get out of here!” The goatee man said, limping back to the direction of the surface. The other two were right behind him.

Once it was quiet, Cameron appeared from his hiding.

“I could’ve helped you!” he snapped, “Now look what’s happened.”

My hand that was protecting my eye had blood on it. My eye was definitely swollen for the fact that I could barely see anything out of it.

“I didn’t want anything to happen to you. Now let’s get into that fucking vault,” I said, pointing at the key on the floor. It seemed as the cowards were running away, the vault key must have fallen from one of their pockets.

We entered the fault, being greeted by two large chests. I opened the first one to see a blazer with the Ferelden symbol on the front pocket that seemed to look Cameron’s size.

“You actually have something nice to wear now,” I said, throwing the clothing at him. I opened the second chest to not only see the Grandfather Amell’s Will, but also a large amount of cash.

“Let’s go back now and show mom what we found,” Cameron said. I nodded and we found a shortcut back to the surface.

When we arrived at Uncle Garry’s shack, he was trying to convince Mom to help pay rent.

“Oh fuck you Garry,” I said, giving the will to my mother, “Grandfather left everything to mom.”

My mom read the will, and looked quite furious once she finished.

“I’m going to try to get that estate back,” she said.

“Good luck with that,” Uncle Garry mumbled.

Mom didn’t even question my injury. I’m sure she didn’t even notice, but I knew where to go to treat it.

As I was walking out of the shack to head to Andy’s clinic, I saw Vance waiting at the end of the steps.

“I saw you pass the bar,” he said, “I thought that was either bloody eye, or just smeared make up.”

“I got into a fight,” I replied, “I’m heading to Andy’s now.”

“A fight?”

“Finding more about family history is a lot harder than it looks like.”

“I believe you. Why don’t you come hang out with me? Andy would just have a worried fit.”

I thought about Vance’s offer. It did seem logical. Who knows what questions Andy would be asking. He probably would even report to the police.

I agreed to Vance’s suggestion and we walked into his room in the bar. I sat in his recliner and he dipped a rag into some whiskey.

“This is going to hurt like a bitch,” he warned.

“I bet not as bad of the immediate aftereffect of a right hook,” I said.

It stung a little bit, I winced the first time Vance patted my eyebrow bone with the bitter alcohol.

“You’re going to have to come up with some convincing story,” Vance said, “The swelling will still be pretty bad on Monday.”

“I can’t really go telling people I got punched in the face while finding a damn will,” I complained.

“You could say you got it when the cops showed up at the party Friday night.”

“I was with Andy the entire time. He drove me home.”

“Oh yeah, how did that go? I could’ve driven you home safely, even drunk.”

“That’s what Andy was worried about, or that was his excuse at least.”

Vance laughed, “Hah! Blondie tries extremely hard.”

I rolled my eyes, “Oh come on, he was taking care of me. I smoked some of Flynn’s lyrium stuff.”

“I swear, Flynn is the only one out of all the people I know who can stand that stuff.”

“That’s what Andy said.”

“Whatever. Anyway, Andy probably has a little crush on you.”

I thought back. It was true, though it was the first week of school, Andy had showered me with compliments. Complimenting my art, my personality, the way I smiled, and even the organization of my chemistry notes. He also stared at me a lot, but not too much that it was creepy. Just enough for him to smile when I caught him.

“Bella has been trying to start a relationship between me and him, I guess,” I said, “but I honestly am not sure I’m ready to take on a relationship.”

“How come?” Vance asked.

“Well there was this guy, Steven. I literally thought I might have loved him, but he got all into the church and he just changed. He said all this, “after we’re married” crap. He never even showed any slight physical affection to me anymore. So it fell apart from there.”

“Who dumped who?”

“I dumped him, surprisingly, and now I feel selfish about it.”

“It’s not selfish. Did you want to marry him?”

“I...don’t know.”

There was a silence between Vance and me.

“So,” he said, “about that eye. Just say that I threw a baseball at you when you came to visit me to, I don’t know, help me study for AP History. I did a “think fast” thing to you, and it failed.”

“A baseball?” I questioned.

“The only people who will be able to see past the stupid lie will be Bella and Flynn. Andy will just give me a lecture.”

“You don’t even play baseball.”

“I’m training.”

I sighed, “Well, hopefully it will work. Thank you.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Vance replied, “I’m the storyteller.”

Vance wiped off the rest of the blood off my eye and squinted.

“Well the cut itself isn’t that bad,” he said, “but its a pretty nasty bruise.”

I sighed and walked to Vance’s bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. My left eyelid was almost swollen shut, and the blues and purples mixed together all around.

I heard footsteps enter the room.

“I have the worse hangover,” Bella said. I walked out of the bathroom to not only see her, but see Flynn as well.

“Goodness woman!” Bella shrieked, “I didn’t know Vance was such an animal!”

“I got punched in the face,” I said bluntly.

“But we are telling everything that I hit her with a baseball,” Vance added.

Flynn walked closer to me. He gently touched my jaw and turned my head sideways to see the wound better.

“Did Andy do this to you,” he growled.

“Of course not!” I said, “Cameron and I were trying to find the Amell Estate’s will, and there were some thieves on the way. I took care of them myself.”

“Damn, Hawke!” Bella cheered, “They’re alive, right?”

“Of course,” I answered.

“So that means the men are still out there,” Flynn said, “They could find you.”

I shrugged, “Well, guess I’ll have to beat their asses again.”

“The baseball story Vance?” Bella asked.

“I’m too lazy to come up with anything better,” he replied.

“Well, I can’t exactly be walking around in public,” I said, “I’ll just head home now.”

“Are you sure?” Flynn said.

“I’ll just keep icing it until Monday,” I said, and then I left the Hanged Man.

When I arrived home, mom finally noticed the black eye.

“Maureen you didn’t have to get beaten up just to find a will,” she told me.

“Well it’s in the past and I would like to just rest,” I replied. I made myself comfortable on the couch, and then I fell asleep in the late afternoon.

When I woke up, the entire shack was dark. My stomach growled from hunger and my clothes stuck to my body with sweat. I trudged to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of orange juice and spread some butter on a slice of bread. I opened the door outside and breathed in the cool fresh air. The full moon lit up all of Lowtown.

I sat down at the end of the steps leading up to the shack, chewing the bread and sipping the juice. Not a candle was lit, nor a sound made, but then I saw a dark figure in the dark, leaning against another building.

“Hello?” I said tentatively, “Who’s there?”

I wasn’t expecting the person who walked out of the shadows.

“I’m sorry,” Flynn said, looking down at his feet, “You must think I’m a creep.”

I was confused, “I mean, can I ask why you are here in the middle of the night?”

“After you talked about the thieves, I got, um, worried.”

_Oh my Maker that is so fucking cute_ , I thought.

“You wanted to protect me from the bad guys?” I joked, which made Flynn grinn.

“If I knew you’d come outside, I would of hid better.”

He was avoiding my question, which made it even more adorable.

“Well, thank you,” I said.

Flynn looked surprised, “You’re not mad at me?”

“Why should I be? You weren’t only watching over me, you were guarding my entire family. I appreciate it.”

Flynn nodded and kicked the ground nervously, “I can stay here the whole night, if you want me to.”

I scooted over and patted next to me, “Make yourself comfortable.”

He sat next to me, and I realized at that moment I must of looked like a mess.

“Sorry about my appearance,” I said, “I went straight to bed when I got home.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Flynn replied, “I’m wearing the same clothes as well.”

We didn’t speak for the rest of the night;we waited until the sky brightened.

“Wanna have breakfast?” I asked him. He lifted an eyebrow, “Breakfast?”

“If you haven’t caught on, people usually eat breakfast in the morning.”

“I know what it is, but where are we suppose to have food?”

I stood up and motioned for him to follow me. When we arrived at the Elven Alienage, he became nervous.

“Something wrong Flynn?” I asked him.

“Are you taking me here on purpose?” he asked back.

_Oh yeah_ , I thought, _Flynn’s an elf._

“Of course not!” I replied, “You obviously haven’t been here enough to try out the breakfast burritos.”

We walked past a tourist group. The tour guide waved at me and told the group to turn around.

“Humans like to visit the alienage as well!” he said. Some of the people actually tried taking pictures of me, but once they saw my black eye, they stuck their cameras back into their pockets.

I walked up to my favorite food truck.

“Look who it is!” Owen chirped, “Maureen! Or apparently you’ve been going by Hawke these days. What happened to your eye? Oh, nevermind. Breakfast burrito?”

“Make that two,” I replied, pointing to Flynn.

“I don’t have any cash on me,” Flynn whispered as Owen was cooking the burritos.

“Neither do I,” I said. Owen handed Flynn and me two burritos wrapped up in tin foil.

“On the truck as usual, Hawke!” Owen said.

As Flynn and I walked around Lowtown, he asked how I got the breakfast free.

“I sold him weed for endless amounts of food,” I said.

“Oh…”

“Are you judging me?”

“Perhaps a little bit.”

We both laughed and finished our burritos before we ended up at my house again.

“Well,” I started, “thanks for letting me hang out with you for the entire night.”

“Thanks for letting me stay in front of your house,” he replied.

“What are you going to do for the rest of the day?” I asked.

Flynn shrugged, “Probably sleep.”

I chuckled and walked up to my front door.

“Sweet dreams,” I said. Flynn grinned and we waved to each other before I closed the door.

“Now who is _that_?” my mother asked.

“Mom, you really need to quit your snooping,” I whined.

“Another friend?”

“Yes, actually, that was Flynn.”

“I noticed he was an elf.”

“Is there something wrong with that?”  
My mother sighed and turned away, “No, Maureen, it isn’t. When are you going to hang out with other girls, and, I don’t know, go shopping!”

“First mother,” I started, “Bella and Avery are my friends, and second, I don’t have the money to just go shopping whenever I want.”

“Perhaps you should apply for a job.”

“While taking _four_ AP classes, making sure the twins don’t cause any trouble, and trying to live a social life? Not to mention I could be added to the cheerleading squad! I worked my ass off for an entire year trying to support _all of us._ I think I deserve a little rest.”

I was frustrated, and I couldn’t stay in that shack any longer. I began to change into different clothes and walked to the front door.

“Where do you think you are going?” my mother asked.

“I’ll be back late.”

“But you just got inside! Maur--”

I slammed the shack door. I lit a cigarette and smoked, but it wasn’t enough. I needed something much stronger.

Then I thought of her.

 

Ava was in front of the Blooming Rose.

“Well look who it is!” she chirped, “Nice battle wound.”

“Well, I learned how to fight from the best,” I replied, “Listen, I don’t have any cash but I’m just really stressed out and I need--”

“Oh, lovely old apprentice, follow me.”

Ava talked to me as we walked, “I’ve been on the move for a little while now, I’ve been setting up camps. A lot of things have changed since you left. We’ve expanded.”

“Must be hard though, without your hardest employee,” I smirked.

Ava laughed, “Well, that's for sure. Anyway, the other guys and I have been setting up tents, no more houses for us.”

Ava and I were at the outskirts of Hightown. Tents were set up in a secluded alleyway. Compared to the shack, this was an estate.

My old co-workers waved at me, “You’ve come back to work with us?”  
“Unfortunately, no,” Ava answered for me.

We walked to Ava’s tent and she dug through inside. She found a joint and passed it to me.

“You still have that lighter I gave you?” she asked.

I fished it out of my pocket, “Duh.”

It was a high quality Zippo lighter, one I could fill up with my own fluid whenever I wanted. It was black, but Ava had it specially engraved with the Amell family crest in red ink.

I lit the joint and inhaled a long, grateful drag. The feeling of course still not enough. It was definitely not as strong as Flynn’s stuff.

“Hey Ava,” I said, “Have you heard of Lyrium?”

She widened her eyes, “Yeah, it’s hard to get that stuff, do you know who has supply?”

“Um, no, I was just wondering. I just heard about it recently. In school and stuff.”

“Oh yeah, you’re in school now. You should drop out, like me.”

“I rather spend the rest of my life by not being in the drug cartel business.”

“Suit yourself.”

Ava believed my lie, which made me feel relieved. I finished the joint and studied my friend. She looked a lot skinnier than usual.

“How are you Ava?” I asked, “Honestly, you don’t look so good.”

“Eh, the work I’m in is hard, remember? You looked pretty shitty yourself.”

She had a point. I was about 10-15 pounds underweight when my year of servitude ended. We didn’t have enough time to eat, sleep, even relax.

I shuddered, it wasn’t the best to think about the past.

“Dude, your hands are shaking,” Ava said, interrupting my thoughts.

I looked downwards. My hands were shaking, pretty hard in fact.

“Withdrawal hit you hard, didn’t it?”

I nodded. Usually Ava and I would have to prove to the clients that the stuff we traded wasn’t laced with anything, or prove the cocaine wasn’t laundry detergent.

“I mean, it’s only been about what, two weeks?” I questioned, “I never had any symptoms until now.”

Ava shrugged, “Maybe you just haven’t noticed it till now, you’ve been so preoccupied with the “high school experience.”

“There’s a rave going on tonight in The Blooming Rose,” she continued, “I’m forcing you to go.”

“I’m not really in the mood, Ava,” I said.

“Bull shit.”

I sighed.

_She’s right, I really actually do need a little fun._

Ava and I waited inside her hotboxed tent till nightfall, rolling and passing joints before the rave while eating massive bags of chips. Ava rubbed her foundation around my eye, covering up the bruise as much as she could.

“I’m not eighteen,” I told Ava as we walked up to the Blooming Rose.

“The owner buys my weed for her employees,” she replied.

We walked right in, skipping the long line of people waiting.

“How are you Ava?” the bouncer asked as he opened the door for us.

“Just dandy.”

The loud house music pulsed in my ears. Strippers were serving drinks to the citizens.

Ava slipped something in my hand, “You know how it goes.”

In my palm was a purple pill with a smiley face engraved into it.

Though I hated the taste of ecstasy, I was so desperate for the feeling. The bitter taste filled my mouth; I almost started gagging, but I fought through.

I danced with Ava to the music, forgetting everything. The blaring tunes replaced my thoughts and my ambition replaced the stress.

An elf with red hair and blue eyes walked up to me.

“Hi! My name is Jeff,” he said.

“Hello!” I replied, “I’m Hawke.”

He danced closer to me, and we moved with one another perfectly.

“Want to come up to my room?” he whispered in my ear.

_Great, a prostitute_ , I thought.

“I’m not into that sort of stuff,” I said.

“Did I say I wanted anything?” he replied.

Jeff grabbed my hand and led me through the crowd. We walked up the stairs and he brought me inside his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

“You know what would make this rave better?” Jeff said. He separated from me and moved to a drawer, bringing out an elastic band and a long needle.

I froze, “I don’t think so,” I said. Out of all the different drugs, I had never tried heroin. From what I heard, it was much too addictive. Even Ava wouldn’t let me trade the drug.

“Oh come on, Hawke,” he teased, “It is a lot more fun than you think.”

I hesitated. Though I was looking for euphoria, heroin was risky. Who knows how much my body could handle.

“I’ll take care of you the entire time,” he said, already preparing the liquid opium.

“Promise?” I asked.

“Promise,” he replied.

And then he wrapped the elastic band around my bicep.


	6. Lies Part2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke suffers the consequences of the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it has been a while. If any of you read my other fics, you will also notice they have not been updated in a while as well. College is very time consuming. I have not quite writing though. I don't think I will any time soon.   
> I'm still having terrible writer's block. After my first semester, I should have more time to think and have better ideas to write about.  
> Enjoy!

I woke up on Jeff’s bed, tangled in sheets. I looked outside his window, the sun barely rising.

_Wait a minute_ , I thought.

I grabbed Jeff’s phone from the nightstand and looked at the time.

_7:15_

_Shit._

I threw the covers off of me, Jeff stirring from his slumber.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“School,” I said, pulling on my boots.

“Come back any time!” he called as I sprinted out the door.

I couldn’t find Ava anywhere. I scanned the entire club.

_She ditched me, of course._

I began to run to Lowtown like no other, trying to remember what happened the night before.

I shot up heroin, I thought, but everything else was a blur.

I remember bits and pieces, laughing with Jeff, yelling at people who knocked on the door. My clothes were still on when I woke up, so obviously Jeff didn’t take advantage of me.

_Prostitutes actually do have standards_ , I thought.

I barged into the house, my mother yelping at the noise.

“You look terrible!” she cried, “Why do you look like a ghost?”

Her chiding did not agree with my migraine. I looked at the clock on the living room wall.

_7:30_

I didn’t have time to take a shower. I ran to the bathroom to see how I looked.

My face was pale, almost white. The bruise on my eye morphed with the bags under my bloodshot eyes. T

I rubbed my mother’s foundation around my eyes . I tried to tame my short black hair that was suffering from terrible bed head. I pulled on a black turtleneck sweater and denim skinny jeans, shoving my boots on quickly as possible. I slipped on my bookbag.

Right before I ran out the door, I grabbed Flynn’s leather jacket. I ran into the high school, checking the clock on the wall.

_7:55_ , it read.

I shoved Flynn’s jacket into my locker. Right before Mr. Colson was about to shut the classroom door, I caught it with my hand.

“Maureen, I mean, uh, Hawke!” he said, studying my most likely strange appearance, “You made it just in time.”

As I walked to my seat, I noticed all eyes were on me.

_Okay, I don’t look that terrifying_ , I thought.

When I sat down, Bella turned around to face me.

“Where were you last night young lady?” she asked, grinning.

“A rave,” I replied, rubbing my temples in a circular motion.

“You know,” Avery said, “I have had to cover your ass so many time from the cops.”

“Good for you,” Bella snapped back. She directed her attention towards me again.

“Did anything interesting happen?”

I bit my lip, “Umm…”

“Is there something you would like to say you two?” Mr. Colson said to Bella and me.

“We were just talking about how you look so handsome in that tie,” Bella purred, turning her body back around. Mr. Colson’s face turned red.

A thought entered my mind, “Shit,” I whispered, “I forgot to do my homework. What was our homework again?”

“Goodness woman, you really are hungover,” Avery muttered.

There was no homework for AP History, but I quickly pulled out the sheet of hideous math equations out of my bookbag. I worked out the math carefully, not bothering to use a calculator. My Elven essay was only half written, I read Ms. Elva’s book in class, and of course, chemistry and art. No homework for those classes, for the fact I never even had to study.

I began to work on the essay.

“How the fuck do you say time in past tense,” I mumbled.

“ _Melava_ ,” I heard a voice say. Flynn was now right behind Avery, closer than he usually was.

“Thanks,” I said, giving a small smile.

The day was going by slowly, and it took me everything to keep my hands from shaking harder than they already were, and I had the chills. It definitely wasn’t heroin withdrawal, I only had done it once, and that was last night. It had to be the cocaine.

I had difficulty concentrating in Pre-Calc and Ms. Merethari’s class.

When I walked through the hallways to Ms. Elva’s class, Flynn walked next to me.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, “I’m just not feeling well.”

“Do you want me to take you to the nurse?”

“N-no, I’m okay. Oh, I have something to give you. Follow me.”

We walked to my locker and I opened it, handing the jacket to Flynn.

“I forgot to give it back to you,” I said.

He took the jacket, grinning, “Thanks.”

“What’s going on?” Andy said, towering over Flynn.

“Flynn let me borrow his jacket Friday night,” I said.

“It’s none of your business,” Flynn said at the same time.

Andy lifted an eyebrow and rested his hand on my cheek, looking at me.

“What happened to you?” he asked, his eyes worrisome, “You look pale, your eye is bruised, and your hands are shaking!”

“Vance hit me in the eye with a damn baseball,” I said, trying not to smile.

“I’m going to yell at him for that,” he growled, “but what about your hands?”

“I didn’t eat breakfast. Low blood sugar.”

“Well you can come by the clinic anytime.”

“Thanks Andy.”

Andy’s name was called by another jock. He sighed and walked away.

Flynn snickered, “You are pretty convincing.”

“Vance’s charm is wearing off on me,” I replied.

Flynn’s face grew serious, “Now tell me what happened at that rave.”

I sighed, “Well I took ecstasy, which I’m pretty use to...but--”

“Hawke!” Bella said, slamming her locker door, “Let me walk you to class.”

Bella shut my locker door and dragged me away. Once we were out of earshot, Bella spoke.

“Now tell me everything.”

I told her about the argument with my mother, and how I went to see Ava again. I told her about the ecstasy at the rave and how I met this dude named Jeff.

“You hooked up with him?!” Bella shouted. I shushed her.

“ _No!_ ” I hissed, “He pressured me though into shooting up heroin.”

“Oh, well that’s not too good,” she said.

“But right now I’m just having late withdrawal symptoms from cocaine and--”

“Damn!” Vance said, surprising me, “Let’s go out for lunch.”

I sighed, “I can’t keep anything from you two.”

“Nope!” Bella chirped.

Vance and I made it to Ms. Elva’s class in time. I made an A- on her pop quiz about the book we were reading. I felt like I was going to faint the entire class.

Afterwards, I followed Vance and Bella outside of school.

“We have forty-five minutes to get an actual decent meal,” he said.

“I don’t feel like eating,” I replied.

Bella patted me on the back, “There there, coke head.”

We waited for Flynn, Andy, and Mary.

“So where should we go?” Mary asked.

“I would like to go to that food truck again,” Flynn said quietly next to me. I grinned.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my box of cigarettes.

“Lucky Dragons, really?” Bella scoffed. She pulled out her own box.

“Tevinter Dagger Reds? Those are just made out of animal’s guts,” I said.

“Hush.”

I brought out my lighter and lit the cigarette.

“Let me see that,” Vance said reaching for my lighter, “It’s really cool looking.”

“Ava got it for me,” I said, “It’s the Amell crest.”

“Cigarettes are terrible for your health,” Andy said.

“Oh shut up, Andy,” Bella pouted, “You’re ruining all the fun.”

“Kids only do it these days to look cool.”

I ignored Andy’s comment and smoked anyway. The shaking in my hands relaxed.

“I say we go to the Hightown market and see what they have,” Vance suggested.

We walked to market and looked at all the different types of food. Noodles, fish, chicken, beef, everything. Mary walked to the vegetable stand.

“I could not be a vegetarian,” Bella said.

I looked at the sandwich shop, but it only made me feel even more sick.

“You’re not eating?” Andy asked me.

“I think I have a stomach bug,” I replied.

“That would explain why you are so pale.”

“Mhm.”

I also didn’t have enough cash to buy food in general. I smoked while everyone else ate.

When we made it back to school, I felt nauseous.

“I’m going to the vending machines,” I said, but I made a run to the bathroom instead.

I threw up bile, not really having anything else in my stomach to puke up. My hands were back to shaking and I sat down and wrapped my arms around my legs.

_Just a couple lines and everything will be settled_ , I thought

I shook my head. _No_. _You can make it through._

I flushed the toilet and washed my face in the sink, not caring how I looked anymore.

I made it to chemistry class just in time. Though I did want to go home and sleep, I knew I would feel much better being in my favorite classes.

“You look sick, Hawke,” Dr. Orson said, “Do you need anything?”

“Just some sleep,” I said, flashing a smile.

_And some fucking Advil._

“Alright,” he said, “Let’s start class.”

I gripped my pencil tightly, trying to halt the shaking while scribbling notes.

“Are you cold?” Andy said, “You can wear my letter jacket?”

_Great, he wants me to wear his jacket now._

His letter jacket was the school colors, covered with patches for all the success he has made while playing sports at Kirkwall High.

“I’m good, thanks though,” I replied.

We were assigned at the end of class to make a presentation and organized essay over an element from the periodic table by Friday.

“I thought this was an AP class?” I said to Andy as we walked to art.

“It’ll get harder, don’t worry,” he reassured.

I sat at my easel in the corner of the classroom and waited for Dr. Orson. A thought popped up in my mind.

“Hey Andy!” I called across the art room, “Where do we find out about who are the cheerleaders?”

“At fitness the list will be hanging on the gymnasium door,” he said.

Dr. Orson walked in with a stack of blank pages cradled in his arms.

“Sit down at the table students, we will be sketching today.”

We all groaned at the same time.

“Now now, it’s not that bad,” he chirped.

We all sat in the chairs in front of the blinding white table. Dr. Orson handed us three sheets of scratch paper.

“You all may know why I handed out specifically three pieces of paper to each of you.”

_Oh please no_ , I thought.

“You all are to do a portrait of each other and your own self portrait.”

Once again, we all groaned as Dr. Orson laughed.

“Today will be sketching, tomorrow will be ink, and then Wednesday will be painting. Oil paints, specifically.”

_Oil? Really?_

If one didn’t know how to use oil paints correctly, the painting would come out terrifying.

Dr. Orson continued with the instructions, “I want every specific detail of the person, from the locks of hair, to the pores on their skin, to the colors of the lips and eyes, and don’t forget the eyelashes.”

_At least this is more of an AP class_ , I thought.

So we began. I began to draw Mary first (get the face tattoos over with), Andy would be next, and then myself.

It was hard to draw, I couldn’t draw correct lines with my trembling hand. I went to bathroom during the class to dry heave.

I was grateful when the bell rang. I only had gotten through half of my self sketch, Andy and Mary were already shading.

“Can you stay for just a bit longer, Hawke?” Dr. Orson said before I was to walk out the door. I sat down and he dug through his desk.

“I could see you scratching your arm,” he said, not looking at me.

I froze.

“But I didn’t see anything else, so I presume you are withdrawing from another drug?”

I couldn’t speak.

“I had my rebel days as well, Hawke. Here.”

Dr. Orson handed me a pack of peppermint gum, “This should preoccupy your mind from cravings.”

“Um, thank you,” I said, my face red from embarrassment.

“Have a nice day!”

“Uh, you too.”

I walked fast walked to the gymnasium to see the list of the new cheerleaders. Andy ran up behind me.

“I was waiting for you. Guess you didn’t see me I guess,” he said, “What happened?”

“He just wanted to know if I worked with oil paints before, which I have,” I replied.

Some girls were actually _sobbing_ when I passed them to look at the list.

“I did everything right though!” one of them bawled.

I read the list.

 

Kirkwall High’s Cheerleaders

 

I looked closer, it went by alphabetical order last name. I grinned.

 

Breann Hawke

Maureen Hawke

 

“Looks like both of you will be shaking pom poms,” Andy whispered in my ear.

I turned around and looked up at him, “Thank you. Seriously. For putting Breann on the team.”

He beamed, “Well it wasn’t just me. All the guys thought her little fall at the end was cute.”

_I was right_ , I thought.

“I didn’t even have to suggest you, everyone was for it. Even Lilley,” Andy finished.

I found Breann in her little freshman clique giggling and jumping up and down.

“Told ya the fall was cute,” I said. She hugged me tightly.

“Sisters together on the field!” she cheered.

“Please don’t say it like that,” I complained.

“Why congratu-fucking-lations,” Bella said to me in the locker room later, “Shake your little booty for the little horny boys.”

“Why didn’t you try out?” I asked.

“The uniform covers up too much cleavage.”

“Why did I even ask.”

I walked to the football field, but this time I sat down with the fellow cheerleaders to stretch.

“Everybody count together!” Lilley barked.

Afterwards, Lilley stood up and spoke.

“We are cheerleaders. We cheer on our fellow football boys as they work their hearts out in the game, so we must work our hearts out in cheer!”

_Oh my fucking Maker_ , I thought.

“The first game is this Friday. We will do the tryout dance and cheer at the pep rally, and we will learn about five more cheers this week, including a pyramid. Has anyone ever set up a pyramid before?”

My hand was the only one up (besides the cheerleaders from the year before).

Lilley sighed, “Okay, well we will need somebody small to be at the top. How about…”

Lilley looked over all of us, and her eyes landed on my sister.

“You’re the freshman right? Breann?”

“Yes,” she said nervously.

“You have a pretty small petite body that can be lifted easily. You’ll be at the top.”

My sister beamed.

“Let’s get to work!” Lilley ordered.

We stood on the track in front of the bleachers and practiced the cheers. We left the lane closest to the field open for the cross country runners.

While we practiced cheers I heard fast footsteps. I glanced to my right to see Flynn in front of all the other runners, not even showing a hint of exhaustion.

“ _Go Dragons!_ ” the cheerleaders yelled. As Flynn passed, I winked at him.

“G-O, G-O, Dragons, let’s go!”

I could hear him chuckling.

We stayed cheering until the football boys finished their practice. Cross country had been long gone.

I walked with Andy back to the gymnasium.

“I have to do this everyday until the end of February?” I asked him.

“Well, you get Wednesdays off” Andy replied, “Friday you’ll be preparing for the game.”

“Breann is going to want ribbons to tie up her hair,” I grumbled, “and _glitter._ ”

“I’ll walk you home?”

“Sure.”

Andy laughed and we separated as we walked to our locker rooms. Beth was giggling with all the other cheerleaders of how excited they were for the game and discussing matching hair styles.

“I’m walking home with Andy,” I said to Breann, “Do you know how to walk home without the bus?”

All the girls said their “Aww”s.

“Are you and Andy dating?” Beth asked. The other cheerleaders waited impatiently.

“ _No_ ,” I replied, irritated, “We are just friends.”

“I can walk her home,” Lilley said behind me, “I have to walk to my job in Darktown anyway.”

The other girls no longer made noise. Instead, they hurried to get out of the locker room.

“Can you help me dig out some uniforms from storage, Breann?” Lilley asked my sister, “Then we can head to Lowtown.”

“Sure!” My little sister said, a big smile filling her face. Of course Lilley wanted her own slave to do all the work, and Breann was the perfect victim. I didn’t mind, as long as my sister was not injured in the process.

Andy once again held my bookbag as we walked to Lowtown.

“There’s going to be a party after the game at the Wounded Coast again,” Andy said, “It’s school sponsored, which means no drunk people running naked everywhere. Almost everybody at K-H comes, even some kids not from our school.”

“K-H?” I questioned.

“Kirkwall High.”

“Oh.”

When we arrived at my house, Andy kicked at the dust.

“Do you um, maybe want to go out somewhere, some time?” He asked.

I grinned, “Are you asking me out on a _date_ , Andrew?”

“Well, kinda. Are you into graffiti?”

“What time.”

Andy laughed. I loved graffiti spray painting. It was making art while being rebellious, two of my favorite things.

“How about tonight, around three a.m.? I’ll wait outside your house.”

“I won’t be anywhere else.”

Andy handed me my bookbag. As I stepped into the house, I fell face first into the couch, falling asleep immediately.

My mother’s voice woke me up.

“You’ve been sleeping for three hours, it’s dinner time,” she said.

I looked at the clock. If school releases at 2:45, and I get home around 3:10, that meant it must only be 6:15 p.m. I still had a lot of time to go before Andy came.

“You also need to do your homework,” my mother continued.

“ _Okay_ ,” I said, my voice muffled from the pillow. I rose and sat down at the dinner table, where I was greeted by a big bowl of chicken noodle soup. My stomach growled and I actually had an appetite. Cameron glared at me as we ate.

“What’s your problem?” I growled.

“It’s nice to see that you can’t even walk Breann home.”

Breann punched her brother in the arm, “Um, I had the captain of the cheerleading team walk me home. I don’t need my sister at my side at all times.”

“Well said, Breann,” I praised, “Just don’t come home with any face tattoos.”

Cameron scoffed and returned to his eating.

I took a long shower afterwards and made sure the water was hot as it could be, sweating out what must be in my system. I brushed my teeth, washing out the vomit stench.

I spent the most time working on the art project, making up the time I lost during class.

After finishing all of my homework, I saw down comfortably in front of my easel. The painting of Flynn’s scars still rested, waiting to be finished.

The thick white vines had a blue aura. It was missing something though.

I looked down at my pallet and noticed with was being overflown with cigarette ashes.

_I need to get myself an ashtray_ , I thought.

_Wait a minute._

I ran to the kitchen and opened the cabinet filled with Mason jars.

“Making another paste?” I heard my mother asked in the midst of her washing dishes.

“If it will even turn into one,” I replied, grabbing a jar. I ran back into the bedroom, grabbed my art supplies, and lifted the basement door on the floor.

“Be careful!” My mother called as I closed the door.

I turned on the baseball light and quickly walked down the stairs, trying not to drop anything.

I saw my work table, covered with a thin layer of dust for not being used in a while.

_Time to start cooking._


	7. Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke becomes stressed by new events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me being late with updates and what not.  
> I made this chapter SUPER long to make up for lost time.  
> I was going to make this a Lies Part 3, but the subject didn't really fit.  
> Forgive me lovely readers for the delay!  
> Enjoy!  
> -CF

I flew back against the wall from the explosion I had caused.

“Is everything alright down there?” I heard my mother call from upstairs.

“I’m alive!” I replied, picking myself off the ground.

The pot which caused the explosion was a mix of different chemicals that must be illegal. I couldn’t read the labels, mostly because they were not in english. All I knew is that they could be very dangerous if not mixed well.

My outcome was a light gray paste, enough to add detail to my current "vine" painting.

I ran up back to my easel, carefully holding on to the still bubbly mixture. When I sat down, I grabbed my best paint brush, and dipped it into my ash paste. I detailed the vines, adding shadow and highlight. My hands were steady with each stroke I made. In the end, the vines glowed. The darker the room became, the brighter the vines became.

When I was finished, everyone was asleep. I tiptoed out of the room and readied myself for three a.m. I slipped on some black jeggings, kept on my long sleeve black turtleneck, and my black combat boots. It was best to dress this way, therefore if Andy and I were to be caught, we could run and hide easily away from the police.

I heard a light knock on the door at exactly three. I opened the door slowly to be faced with Andy's chest. He was all wearing all black. Black jeans and a regular long sleeve black t-shirt, with black running shoes.

"Shall we?" He said, lifting a bag of canned paint.

"We shall," I replied, and off we went.

We started in Lowtown, pointing the walls with intricate designs. Andy worked with blue and white paints, while I stuck with my favorite two: black and red. I sprayed a dragon outline, hoping that Dr. Orson would not be walking around Lowtown anytime soon.

Andy and I made our way to Hightown, hiding in the shadows from the police that walked the street.

"I know a place," Andy whispered, grabbing my hand. We began to run, moving through Hightown swiftly.

When we turned the corner to reach our destination, I screamed at the sight that what was suppose to be a blank wall.

Blood, spread across everywhere.

"Blood magic," Andy hissed.

Blood magic, a street name for artists who rebelled against society. These "artists" we're murderers, killing people in order to make art. Either that or they would use their own blood, slitting their wrists to make their own "paint".

 _THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING_ , the message said.

I covered my mouth, feeling the urge to gag.

"Why would people do this?" I asked, as if Andy would have a logical answer.

"These people are just scared of the system," Andy said, "They don't know how to protest in a calm manner. Poor citizens."

I scoffed at Andy, "You're _defending_ them?"

"Blood magic is wrong, I absolutely hate it, but if it wasn't for this corrupt society in Kirkwall and its hatred towards art, people wouldn't be so tempted to go as far as murder."

Andy had a point, but it still scared me the way he spoke.

"Who's there?!" a voice shouted.

"Shit, it's the police," I said. Andy and I made a run for it, dropping our cans of paint. We swerved away from the flashlights, escaping the sound of footsteps behind us.

Andy and I ended back at my house, both of us breathing heavily.

"That was a close one," Andy said between breaths. I nodded in reply. He walked me up to my doorstep.

"I'm sorry," he began, "that you had to see that. I should've never suggested we go to Hightown. That was so stupid of me. I--"

"Andy," I interrupted, "it wasn't your fault. You didn't know. Let's just both sleep it off."

Andy sighed, then moved his bangs behind his ears.

"I just wanted it to be a fun night."

I forced a smile, "It was, the beginning anyway. Maybe once this blood magic shit ends, we can do it another time."

That made Andy smile. Our bodies were close together;I could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"Well, guess I should get back inside," I said, opening my door from behind.

He frowned, "Yeah, I'll see you at school."

I could tell Andy wanted more than just a goodnight farewell.

Before I walked into my house, I stood up on my toes and kissed the fellow artist on the cheek. He tensed at the gesture.

"Goodnight Andy."

I could see Andy's face turning red in the night sky, "Uh, err, yeah, uh, goodnight, Hawke."

I entered my house and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief of being back into a place I called home. I sat on the couch. I knew I would not be sleeping tonight.

Not after seeing that bloody wall.

* * *

 

I was showered and ready to leave the house as usual, holding a slice of toast in my hand.

"Hurry up, or we'll miss the bus," I called at my siblings.

We made it just in time. When we arrived at Kirkwall High, police were waiting in front of the main doors.

 _This must have something to do with the Blood Magic_ , I thought.

As I walked in the front doors, more police were standing.

"Everyone report to the gymnasium!" one ordered. The twins and I did so, and I looked amongst the crowd to find my friends.

"Hawke!" Vance called, his head barely visible from the person in front of him.

I walked up the steps and the group shuffled to let me in. Flynn sat at the end. His jaw was tight and his eyes glared around the gym.

"What do you think this is about?" I asked as I scooched next to him.

"There was blood all over one of the walls in Hightown," he replied in an angry tone, "Those blood artists are pathetic."

I looked over to where the football team sat. Andy was sitting there, talking to a fellow teammate.

Mayor Dumar stood in front of a podium, a microphone in front of him.

"Now everyone settle," he announced. The gym became silent.

"As you all know, there was an incident last night. Not only was Kirkwall vandalized with graffiti," (it took me everything not to snicker at that comment), "but blood was smeared on in Hightown. I just wanted to let you all know to be very careful this week. We have the police involved and they will be protecting this school until we find the blood artists. Classes shall now resume."

We exited the gym and I headed to my AP Thedas History class.

It was hard to pay attention during class. To know that someone out there, maybe even someone at our school, was a murderer, it made me shudder.

At lunch I picked at my salad.

"You okay, Hawke?" Flynn asked. His concern surprised me.

"Yeah, I'm just kinda stressed out about my Elven test Friday."

"I can help you if you want."

The table was silent. Bella was holding back a grin, Vance looked confused, and Mary of course had a fat smile on her face. Avery sighed.

"Really? Thanks. I'll totally take up that offer," I finally said. Then Bella then began to talk about wanting to take a cruise.

I walked into Chemistry to see Dr. Orson was not there. There was a message written on the board.

_Hello students. Today I will not be in class. Please work on your projects. Dr. Orson._

I sat and opened my sketchbook, deciding to procrastinate and draw instead. Andy walked in a slid in his next, sitting a little bit closer to me than usual.

"I heard he's helping out with the blood magic case," he said, "Dr. Orson is apparently really good at figuring out these things."

"Do you want to get out of here?" Andy suggested. I nodded in reply. Lots of the students were also leaving, except Mary of course.

Andy and I walked outside to the track and field. We sat on the bleachers.

"Do you think Dr. Orson is going to find out about our graffiti?" I asked.

"I don't know, honestly," Andy shrugged, "Even if he does, I know for sure he would not think we were capable of murder. We also don't have scars on our wrists."

Our knees were almost touching. I felt nervous, but not in an excited sense.

I've been teasing him, I thought.

"Listen, Andy--"

"I know, I know. I might not be your type."

I looked up at him, his cheeks showing signs of pink.

"But Hawke, I really...I just...you're so laid-back, and funny, and I haven't even known you that long."

"Hah! You're over exaggerating."

"I'm not though. You fascinate me. It's like you're too good to be true. The last relationship I had, well, he was given a fucking lobotomy against his will by the police."

I raised an eyebrow.

_He?_

Andy read my thoughts, "Yeah, I'm, uh, bisexual, but it's not really anything new. Kirkwall is pretty accepting in that way."

I didn't really care if Andy was bi, I was more confused about why Kirkwall would be more okay with lobotomies.

"Aren't lobotomies like illegal?" I asked.

Andy shook his head, "It doesn't matter here. The politics is fucked up here. Anyway, Carl ended up killing himself. I've never really told many people about this. It's just when I do, sometimes..."

"Justice?" I finished for him, "Mary told me about it after the day you left class."

Andy sighed, "She can't keep her mouth shut. But yes, whenever I think of the police and what they did..."

I held Andy's hand, more in a comforting way. There was silence between us.

The bell rang and we walked from the field to Art. Once again, Dr. Orson was not there. We all worked on our portraits anyway. I dipped my brush into the ink and worked carefully, my hands not as shaky as yesterday. I was done by the time class ended.

I was back at the field, this time for cheer practice. Of course regular fitness would not be in session today.

But Flynn walked out onto the track anyway.

I approached him, "You're not taking the day off?"

"I have a meet Saturday, "He replied. He then looked down at his feet, "Um, I it's here. If you want to come, that would be cool. We just run around Kirkwall and end up on the track. It's okay if you don't want to. I mean--"

"Flynn," I interrupted, "I will definitely be there."

He managed what would be called a smile. A rare thing to do.

"Stretches, ladies!" Lilley called out, and we began practice.

* * *

 

I was eating a sandwich with Bella and Vance at the Hanged Man.

"So you're not pursuing Andy," Bella said, not amused, "I shipped you two so much."

"I'm not interested in anyone," I replied, "Right now I'm more focused on wanting to head down to the Deep Roads to gather those diamonds."

The Deep Roads, that's where I would be with Vance. I already convinced Vance's brother. The trip was to leave for Thanksgiving break.

"You don't want to have a big family meal with turkey and dressing?" Vance joked.

"After my dad passed away, we never really celebrated thanksgiving," I replied.

Bella cleared her throat, "Well, on a happier note. We are having a study group in Vance's lounge. The whole crew! Even firecrotch!"

"Avery."

"Whatever! You should join us. You can help me with biology anyway. We are studying the different types of plants all throughout the Wounded Coast."

It took me less than five minutes to grab my things from my house and walk back.

The group entered one by one. Avery slid next to me, opening her AP Thedas History book.

"Not too happy about this essay," she said.

"It's called an AP class for a reason," Bella commented.

"Mind your own business," Avery growled.

 _Those two never get along_ , I thought.

Flynn walked into the room, and I motioned for him to sit next to me.

"Please help me with this," I said, pointing at my worksheet for Elven 3. Flynn leaned over to see the paper, mumbling the directions. He spoke it beautifully, the words flowing off his tongue. His arm brushed mine, causing him to tense and return to his original position.

"It's just vocab," he said, "Most of the words are just hard to place, because the sentence can change depending where the words are."

He grabbed my pencil and circled a few words in the sentences which I would have to complete.

"From here you can see its present tense, while in the next one it talks about the future."

Flynn seemed almost excited about teaching me.

"Why don't you have Mary help you," said Andy, who I then realized had joined us, "She's the TA in your class anyway. She probably knows the curriculum better."

I saw Flynn's tighten around the pencil. His jaw showing signs of him grinding his teeth together.

"Well, I asked Flynn to help me. Mary has her AP Chem to work on anyway."

"Yes, I'm sure the elf wouldn't know much about AP courses."

 _What's his problem?_ I thought.

"Flynn is actually in AP History with Hawke, Vance, Bella, and me," Avery said, coming to Flynn's defense.

"Not to mention in Hawke and I's AP Lit class," Vance added.

"And AP Qun," Flynn said, snapping his head up to face Andy's, "AP Calc, AP Anatomy. The only "easy" class I say in my schedule would be my Woodshop class."

 _Damn, Flynn is taking more APs than me!_ I thought.

Andy's blue eyes flashed, his expression darkening.

"No, Justice," Vance said, his voice stern.

What was Justice disappeared, and Andy snapped back into his own mind. That was the first time I had ever seen Justice. Only for a second, but a chill ran up and down my spine.

"I should go," Andy said, "I can't stay here any longer."

"Stay," I encouraged, "Work on Chemistry."

Andy sighed and opened his Chemistry book. He scribbled notes, breaking one of his pencils in half during the process.

I focused my attention on Flynn, "Do you other work that you need to do?"

"It won't take me long," he replied.

He helped me finish the worksheet, and then I started making my essay outline for AP History. We were to write a four page paper about a specific area anywhere on the Thedas map, and name a piece of history that happened in that place.

"What's your topic?" Vance inquired.

"Ferelden, of course," I answered, "I'm writing about the Rebel Queen."

The Rebel Queen. A woman who believed in equality and was one of the biggest social justice figures in history.

"Hah! I'm just writing about pirates," Bella said.

"I'll be talking about the dwarves in Orzammar," Vance said next.

"And I'll be making an event in Ostagar," Avery finished.

I looked at Flynn, "How about you?"

He shrugged, "I honestly do not know."

"How about somewhere from your home country?"

" _No._ "

Flynn took out his Calculus homework, "I have more work to do," he said.

 _He really doesn't like talking about his past_ , I thought.

We all worked on our homework for a couple more hours. All I had left was the History essay and my art homework, which was back at school.

I yawned, "Well, I'm beat. I think I'll head back home."

"It's going to be a long week," Vance complained.

It certainly was.

* * *

 

Friday finally arrived. Today was the due date of my history paper, a pre-Calc test, an English quiz, an Elven packet worksheet (thankfully mostly filled out by Flynn), the Chemistry project, and last but not least, the art portraits.

I pushed through the day, ending up dragging my feet to art class. Dr. Orson showed up on Wednesday, making sure we started painting.

At the end of class it was time for show.

Mary was first. Her portraits were simple, but realistic. She put emphasis on my blue eyes, as well as Andy's. The tattoos on her face were designed beautifully, of course. She knew the designs better than anyone else.

Andy then turned his around. Mary's tattoos were a tad sloppy, and he made her eyes tinier than they actually were, but his blending was decent. His own portrait was well made, but in a way, it looked sad. The expression on his painted face was melancholy.

Then there was me. It was the most detailed. He had me looking outwards, as if I was distracted with my own thoughts. It didn't seem realistic. I knew I didn't look as, well, beautiful, as his painting.

So next was me. Mary couldn't help but gasp when she saw my portrait of her.

"I look so pretty, Hawke!" She exclaimed.

"Well, I just painted what I saw," I complimented. Her cheeks turned red.

Andy walked closer to his portrait, "I didn't know I had stubble." he said, rubbing his jaw, "Guess I'll have to shave more."

My own portrait wasn't anything special. I drew myself. Short black hair, ice blue eyes, pale skin, nothing new.

“Well done, all of you,” Dr. Orson said, “It is good to see you all are working hard.”

“Now then,” he continued, “We will move on to more difficult workshops. I wanted us to practice working with clay, and try making 3-D ceramic art.”

Mary couldn’t help but squeal. It was obviously one of her specialties.

“What will we be making?” I asked.

“I will assign each of you a different project. You must never tell each other what you are creating, for you will surprise all in two weeks with what you have created.”

“How are we suppose to work on them during class?” Andy questioned.

“You will each work in your own corner, blocked by portable curtains which stand upright. You will completely cover your projects at the end of class with a bed sheet. Now then, I will not tell each of you what you will be creating.”

Dr. Orson started with me first, surprisingly. Usually he always saved me for last when it came to anything.

“I’m giving you the hardest category,” he whispered, “Do you think you can do it?”

“I can try my best,” I answered.

“I very much enjoyed your dragon piece at the beginning of the year,” he began, “I would like for you to sculpt the same creature, along with a human form of it.”

 _Human form?_ I thought. It was insane what Dr. Orson was telling me to do. First, he was assigning me to make a damn dragon, out of all things. Not some professional structure of the Maker, or the statues at the Gallows. No, he wanted me to sculpt a dragon and a human being version of it.

_Great, just perfect._

Dr. Orson moved onto Andy and Mary, probably assigning them something normal. Andy sighed loudly and clenched his fists. Mary nodded, except her expression was not as cheerful as it usually was.

Class ended, and Andy walked next to me as we headed to the dressing rooms.

“Well, I’ll see you at the game!” he said enthusiastically. Andy was definitely excited;it was the first game of the season. I honestly couldn’t care any less.

It was now time for the pep rally. People would be missing part of their fitness so they could watch cheerleaders, well, _cheer_ , and the school song to be played when our own Kirkwall High’s Dragons walked into the gym.

 _What is with me and dragons lately?_ I thought.

I dressed into the new cheer uniforms with the others. The black and red outfits barely passed the dress code.

“If the skirts got any shorter, I swear the bloomers would only be needed,” I mumbled.

“Alright girls,” Lilley announced, “Just like we practiced. Stay confident, and I swear if any of you fuck up tonight, you’re off the team. Most importantly, smile!”

I had never met someone so committed.

“Ready?” I asked Breann.

“I’m a little nervous,” she admitted. I handed her pom poms.

“You’ll be fine. Just ignore the gigantic crowd and football boys in front of you.”

“Thanks a lot, big sister. You have helped so much.”

I grinned. Scaring my siblings was one of my favorite activities.

I couldn’t see any open seats when I looked through the gymnasium doors.

 _So this_ is _a big deal_ , I thought.

Suddenly, the school song started, and we were off.

I ran into the gym, beginning my round-off triple back-hand spring backflip. I landed it perfectly. I remembered what Lilley said earlier, and flashed the most optimistic smile I could force upon my face.

The football boys walked in, most of the crowd stood up and cheered. I looked around for my friends.

 _Oh my fucking Maker_ , I thought.

There was Vance...on Bella’s shoulders. It took me everything not to burst out laughing. Mary looked at Vance with the most worried look, holding her arms upward as if he was going to fall in her direction. Avery was rolling her eyes at the scene.

Then there was Flynn. He was standing, his arms crossed. We made eye contact, and he moved his hand into the same thumb’s up position as he did that day during tryouts.

I could feel myself blushing.

We began a cheer, Lilley leading us along. We all moved in sync when the dance music began. Breann was on the other side of the group, intentionally.

We began our double pyramid. I was lifted on one side of, and Breann on the other. Lilley wanted the two sisters to be lifted together. The crowd roared even louder.

I cheered, and lifted one foot. I stood perfectly still, while I knew Breann would be shaking slightly on the other side. We then moved together. Bella bent down and had two other cheerleaders hold her hands, creating a flat surface for me. I planted one leg on her back, and waved my hands at the crowd.

“ _WHO THAT SEXY LADY UP ON TOP OF THAT PYRAMID?!_ ” I heard Bella scream. Of course I couldn’t glare at her, or show any signs of anger, and she knew that. Even Avery couldn’t help but laugh. Flynn pulled out a flask from his pocket, and took a big swing. He handed it to Bella to get her to shut up.

I looked at the football boys, who sat at the front. Some of their jaws were dropped and their eyes opened wide. I saw Andy, sitting in the middle. He gave a small wave, a large smile on his face.

We began to break down the pyramid. I was thrown into the air, and I gave a 360 spin before I landed in the arms of fellow cheerleaders, while Breann was lowered onto the ground carefully.

We threw out miniature footballs with the cheers. I made sure Avery and Cameron caught one. Now was the spirit stick time. Each cheerleader received their own, which was just a glittery tube filled with candy, and we were suppose to hand it to the most “spirited” of the crowd.

“ _I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME HAWKE!_ ” Vance yelled. I walked up the stands and reached to hand Vance my spirit stick.

“Don’t expect this to happen every week,” I hissed.

Flynn was on the other side of the Bella/Vance “pyramid”. He leaned forward to look at me. I felt my face burn again.

Before either of us could say anything. I turned around and rushed back down to the gym floor. We ended with one more cheer, and the school band played our school song again before the pep rally finally ended.

“We’re staying in uniform,” Lilley said, “If you want to eat, wear clothes that will cover you.”

I walked up to Lilley, “I can’t leave the school?”

She sighed, “You can stay in Hightown, but I don’t want to see any type of stain on your skirt.”

I slipped on my “Kirkwall High Cheerleader” hoodie and changed into my black skater shoes instead of the white cheer shoes.

 _Maker FORBID they receive a speck of dirt_ , I thought.

I found Bella and Vance stuffing their faces with the candy from the spirit stick.

“You looked hot,” Bella said, wagging her eyebrows.

“I am totally going to get you back,” I replied, shoving her jokingly.

“Cross Country never gets any recognition,” said a familiar voice.

“Oh boo hoo, Broody,” Bella mocked, “Might as well let it go. Cross Country doesn’t have enough violence.”

Flynn rolled his eyes and held his hand out. Bella took out the flask from the inside of her shirt.

“I had to keep it cushioned,” was her excuse.

“Are you going to the Wounded Coast after the game?” I asked Flynn.

He nodded, “Most likely. I have better chances at buying Lyrium there.”

I had almost forgotten about Lyrium, which was some of the best weed I ever had in my lifetime.

“Sorry to tell you this though, Hawke,” Vance entered the conversation, “but you probably won’t see any of us at the game.”

I groaned, “Are you serious? I’m going to be bored out of my mind,” I looked at Avery, “You’re not even coming?”

“I have something called a job Hawke,” she replied.

I knew Mary wouldn’t come. She would probably freak out from all the tackling and shouting going on, and Andy of course would be playing.

I was all by myself.

We all left K-H to eat, and afterwards. We all split up. The moon traded places with the sun, and the lights lit up to present the Kirkwall High football field.

The game was about to begin.

 


	8. Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The football game begins! And Hawke meets someone from her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!  
> Enjoy!  
> CF

The football boys ran out onto the field from a blown up Dragon's head mouth, a fog machine running to make it look like smoke pouring out. I added some flips in for show, traveling along the boys. The cheerleaders finished dancing to the school song, and the game was to begin.

It sucked. I knew I wouldn't be seeing much game action, but at least I wasn't sitting next to the running back's father who screams too much and how everything that happens is not his son's fault.

We caught the kick off, and we began at the first down. I watched Andy run in.

"Go Andy!" A whole bunch of freshman girls yelled.

 _Why does everyone always love the quarterback the most?_ I thought.

Lilley signaled some offensive cheers, and we began.

Suddenly, we saw the crowd stand up, cheering louder and louder. I turned around to see a football in the air, obviously thrown by Andy, and caught by the running back. It had to be one of the longest passes I had ever seen, for the Dragons had made their first touchdown and it wasn't even halfway through the first quarter.

By halftime, the score was 35-7, Dragons leading. The marching band took the field, and I hurried towards the concession stand.

"My feet are killing me," Brean complained while we were in line.

"Welcome to cheerleading," I replied.

I sat down on the bleachers with Breann with shitty concession food. Cameron sat next to me.

"Mom told me to come," he said, "This is so boring."

"You should join the football team!" Breann suggested, "You could be an awesome wide receiver."

"I rather focus on weight training. Football would just slow me down."

I rolled my eyes. Cameron was one of the best on the weight training team, no doubt, but because of that, his cockiness had risen.

The alarm went off, signaling the end of halftime. Breann and I walked onto the track and watched the football boys run out onto the field. The player with the number 8 walked up to me and took off his helmet.

"Are you impressed?" Andy asked.

"You guys are kicking ass," I admitted, "but you better not let the other team catch up." Andy smiled and slipped on his helmet.

"That's not going to happen," he replied, his voice muffled.

The second half started, and Lilley started another cheer. We started another pyramid, not as big as the one at the pep rally, but I balanced on one foot as the girls lifted me up and used my peripheral vision to see Breann being lifted up safely. We waved at the crowd and I made eye contact with Cameron, only to receive rolling eyes. Breann and I landed at the same time in the arms of fellow cheerleaders.

Finally, the last buzzer rang, and the game was over with a victory. The score ended with 56 to 7.

 _Andy was not joking about the winning_ , I thought.

I threw all my gear into my cheer bag and walked up to Lilley.

"So what happens now?" I inquired.

"Now it's time to dress out and get to the Wounded Coast to celebrate our victory!" She exclaimed, looking way to happy.

 _She's not your friend_ , I reminded myself. Lilley was in the Coterie, in fact, one of the leaders. You couldn't trust them. One second they are acting like a friend, then the next she betrays and back stabs you.

Breann and I headed home quickly and I began to pick out an outfit.

"Why can't I go?!" I heard Breann yell from the kitchen.

"Because you are much too young to be going to parties in the middle of nowhere!" My mother yelled back.

"It's school sponsored! I'm not a child! Why are you so overprotective?"

"You're staying here. No. More. Questions."

As I walked out of the bedroom, Breann made sure to give me a nice shoulder bump as she walked in the room.

I walked into the kitchen, my mother sitting on the kitchen table.

"Don't you dare say one word, " she warned. I spoke anyway.

"Mom, I'll watch her," I said, "and Cameron can watch her too."

"Cameron is not going either."

"They are _teenagers_ mom. These next few years will be the most memorable.”

"Maybe you can go out and ruin your life, Maureen, but not the twins.."

I was now becoming frustrated, "They need to have fun, Mother, not stuck in this shithole. After everything they’ve been through."

There was silence between us. My mother lifted herself off the table and stood face to face with me.

"If they come back with one scratch," she threatened, "I swear to the Maker Maureen--"

"I'm taking that as a yes," I said. With that, I went to tell Breann to get ready for her first Wounded Coast party.

* * *

 

It was crowded. People were taking up the benches and kegs were hiding underneath them

"If either one of you get shitfaced," I said to the twins, "You better come find me."

They both nodded at the same time, knowing that I was serious.

I looked around for any of my friends. It took me a couple of pushes to find my favorite duo.

“Look who it is!” Bella exclaimed.

“The one and only Hawke!” Vance finished.

“You don’t attend the game, yet you come to the party,” I said.

“Free beer, sweetie,” Bella purred.

“Mary was around here somewhere,” Vance slurred, “but I think she’s hiding now.”

“Well, I’m going to try to find more people,” I said, giving a short wave as a farewell.

The next person I ran into was not my favorite person.

"Hawke!" Ava cheered, "Glad to see you're alive!"

"Whatever, thanks for fucking ditching me," I hissed.

“Oh come on! You still can’t be butthurt about that party. I know what will make you feel better!” Ava pulled out a pill bottle filled with a well-known plant, “Weed! It’s good shit too, new around here. It’s got like a fancy name. Lyrium, I think.”

I thought of Flynn, “Did you maybe sell it to an elf here? He has designs all over his body.”

Ava grinned, “Yeah, he is one of our biggest buyers. He should somewhere around here. I would check outside this big ass crowd.”

I walked away from Ava, despite her offer.

 _I would just have to repay her later anyway_ , I thought.

Just as I was about to enter fresh air, a hand slipped into mine.

“You came,” Andy whispered in my ear, his breath only smelling slightly of alcohol.

I turned around to face him, “Well, can’t exactly miss the first victory bonfire, can I?”

“Do you want anything?” he asked, motioning to a hidden keg.

“I was actually looking for--” I started, but I couldn't finish.

My stomach rolled, my heart beat pounding. I couldn't breathe.

“Hawke, are you alright?” Andy asked, but his voice was so faded because of the memories and thoughts that were burning in my mind.

There was Sebastian.

He wasn't looking at me, instead he was talking to a group of other Starkhaven men.

“I...I need air,” I forced out. I ripped myself from Andy’s grasp and worked harder to be relieved of the crowd, being cursed at by few.

Finally, Andy, Ava, and Sebastian were far behind me. I leaned forward, setting my hands on my knees, and gasped for air.

“Do you need to sit down?” I heard a voice ask.

Flynn helped me sit on the dirt. He didn’t say anything.

“I saw someone...someone I would not expect to be here,” I was now breathing easier, “It just...was too much.”

I felt a familiar jacket being draped over my shoulders.

“Was this person important to you?” Flynn asked.

“Kind of,” I replied, “A long time ago. I almost thought it wasn’t him.”

I felt Flynn tense beside me, “ _Did he hurt you?_ ”

“Not as much as I hurt him. I broke his heart, and now whenever I think about it I just feel terrible, but now he’s here and I don’t know how to react.”

Flynn sighed and leaned over me to reach for something in his jacket pocket. He pulled back to reveal a joint.

I started to laugh, “You know, drugs don’t solve everything.”

“No, but they can help temporarily.”

Flynn lit the joint with his own lighter and took a hit before handing it to me. I breathe deeply, gathering smoke in my mouth.

“I’m going to need to return the favor some time,” I said.

“Getting it for free would be much appreciative,” Flynn replied.

“I’ll definitely talked to Ava about it.”

I saw Flynn twiddling this thumbs.

“So um, that cross country meet I was talking about. It starts pretty early so don't feel bad if you can't co--”

“I’ll be there,” I replied, “You actually should be sleeping right now.”

“It’s hard for me to relax before a game.”

I rested my head on Flynn’s shoulder, grinning at the tension building.

“Thank you Flynn,” I said softly, “For listening and talking to me.”

He cleared his throat, “Um, I don’t really know how to reply.”

“Usually the human way is saying you’re welcome.”

“Oh, uh, sorry, I--”

“Flynn, that was a joke.”

“Oh.”

I lifted my head from Flynn’s shoulder to look at him. He lifted his arm to scratch the back of his neck.

“I don’t think Andy would like you hanging around me,” he said.

“I don’t care what Andy thinks,” I replied.

Flynn and I did not break eye contact. I could feel his breath. He leaned forward.

“Hawke!” Cameron yelled from the crowd, causing Flynn to lean backward and stand up quickly.

“ _WHAT?!_ ” I shouted back, trying to hide my burning red face as I handed Flynn back his jacket.

“It’s Breann!”

 _Great_ , I thought.

Sister mode kicked in. I ran back up to the bonfire, following Cameron.

There was a large group around one specific person.

“ _Back away from my sister!_ ” Cameron barked.

There was Breann, totally passed out on the dirt with vomit all over herself. Her shirt had been taken off at one point, one of her bra strings had been snapped.

“Who the fuck let her drink this much?” I asked Cameron, “Where the fuck were you?”

“I lost her, okay? There are way too many people here!”

I heard a groan escape my sister’s lips.

“Yo, Breann,” I said, slapping my sister awake, “Who am I?”

“My sister,” she whispered.

“Who let you drink this much?”

“The seniors.”

 _Fucking seniors_ , I thought, _Always manipulating the freshman._

I looked up to see a group of group of shocked people, most likely the seniors.

“We didn’t know you were her sister,” one of the seniors said, looking scared shitless, “You’re the one who beat up a group of thieves, right?”

_Damn it Vance, you couldn’t keep your mouth shut._

“You’re lucky she’s responsive,” I said, “Why would you let her do this?”

“She did it herself,” a senior bitch sneered, “It’s not our fault she decided to be a slut.”

I stood up.

“ _What the fuck did you just say?_ ”

My voice must have sounded non-humane, for now more people were backing away. I knew the expression on my face must be a look of murder, because that snobby girl now looked terrified.

“Maureen, stop.”

I turned around to slap the voice behind me, because I knew it very well.

Sebastian grabbed my hand before it could hit his cheek.

“Don’t  _dare_ tell me what to do,” I growled, ripping my hand away. Sebastian took off his jacket with a large Chantry symbol on the back  and held it in front of him.

“At least cover her,” he said.

“I got it, leave us alone,” Cameron snapped, taking off his own coat we found while searching for the Amell will. Even though we never got along too well after our father passed away, I knew my little brother would always be on my side. He also hated Sebastian from the start. 

“I only am trying to help,” Sebastian defended.

“Please Seb,” I pleaded, trying to keep my voice (and the drama) down, “Just go away.”

“What’s going on?” Andy yelled, pushing his way to the situation, “Are you alright, Hawke?”

“Just help me get her home,” I said.

“Who are _you_?” Sebastian asked, walking closer to Andy “And why did you just call her Hawke?”

I saw Andy’s eyes flash, his face darkening, "Who are _you_?" And why did you just call her Maureen?"

“Well this is fucking awkward,” Vance said. The rest of the group (besides Avery) was around him. Bella grinning at Breann’s appearance, Mary of course being a nervous wreck, and Flynn glaring at the two men making the situation, “fucking awkward”.

Sebastian looked at me, “These are the people you hang out with now? Seriously, I thought you could do much better.”

“Aww, that’s not very nice,” Bella pouted.

“May the Maker bless all of you and your sinful actions,” Sebastian said.

Andy grabbed the front of Sebastian’s shirt and raised him up. Now then, these two men were almost exactly the same build, being both tall and muscular.

_So how was Andy picking up Sebastian?_

“Andy…” Mary whispered.

“ _Shut up, you blood magic elf_ ,” a voice that wasn’t Andy’s growled.

 _Mary and blood magic?_ I thought.

“Good _fucking_ Maker, Justice, calm down,” Bella whined.

I was getting frustrated. Having my sister plastered was already humiliating, now I have a dude who has a fat crush on me with a multiple personality disorder and my Maker humping ex-boyfriend about to fight. In the middle of a bonfire party.

I was not in the best of moods.

“Well, while you two argue and act like children,” I said, “I’m going to get my sister home.”

Cameron and I helped Breann to her feet, wrapping the jacket around her.

I looked to still see Sebastian struggling from Andy(well I guess Justice)’s grasp.

“Andy, put him down, please,” I said, trying not to lose my temper. My words seemed to have helped, since the anger from Justice loosened and Sebastian was dropped to ground. Andy looked at me.

“H-Hawke,” he stuttered, “I...I’m so sorry.”

“Have a good weekend everyone!” Vance yelled, “I’m going to drive these lovely ladies and gentlemen home!”

People were murmuring to each other as they backed away to let me and my siblings through to Vance’s car.

“If your sister pukes in Bianca, I will kill her,” Vance said, his voice cheerful, but his threat serious.

Cameron and I sat on either side of Breann in the back. Vance was of course driving, Flynn sat in the passenger seat, and Bella squished in the middle of the two men.

Vance drove slowly, probably more concerned about Bella becoming nauseous in his car.

Flynn was dropped off first, since he lived in Hightown.

“Did you have fun?” Bella questioned as he was about to shut the car door.

Flynn looked at me, “It was an interesting night.”

“That’s Flynn. Always vague!” Vance cheered. Flynn shut the passenger door, and we were driving again.

“Mom is going to kill me,” Breann mumbled.

I shrugged, “Nah, if anything she’ll just blame me. Can’t wait for sissy’s first hangover.”

Cameron sighed and shook his head, “I think she’ll just be glad we made it in one piece.”

A question popped up in my mind, “Hey Cameron, did you happen to drink?”

“I had a couple of beers, but it really didn’t do anything.”

“I like this guy!” Bella shouted from the front.

“Please don’t,” I said, knowing that Bella had inappropriate thoughts in mind.

We arrived back at the house, Cameron and I helping Breann out of the car gently.

“Thank you Vance,” I said through the passenger window, trying to ignore Bella’s bulging breasts.

“Just know that you owe me, Hawke,” Vance replied. Bianca then drove off.

We walked inside the house quietly. I saw my mother asleep on the kitchen table, a glass of shitty wine in front of her.

“Guess we weren’t the only ones turning up,” Cameron whispered. It took me everything not to burst out in laughter, my insides hurting from muffled giggles.

We laid Breann down onto the bottom bunk. I used a rag to clean the puke off of her, and I helped her into pajamas. I set a bucket next to her, knowing she would need it in the morning.

I cleaned myself off, and with a thanks and a goodnight to Cameron, I cuddled on the living room couch. I thought it would be hard falling asleep, but I started to drift as I pulled the covers over myself. Even with everything that happened at the bonfire, I knew I would just have to deal with it in the morning.

I dreamed about the scent of Lyrium.


	9. Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the bonfire party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took a hiatus. I had to get my life back in check. I've had this chapter written for a while but I didn't post it because for a while I've been very insecure about my writing. I do not know if I am fully back from my hiatus, but I will try not to take too long to write the next chapter. I am currently needing to finish three fics, once I write those I may focus on writing just one at a time.  
> Thank you for your understanding <3

I was woken up  _ way _ too early on a Saturday morning to be face to face with my mother.

"Hiya mom," I said, "Have you prepared your lecture?"

My mother's expression was not amused.

"You put your sister in danger," she began, "You said you would keep an eye on her."

"Correction, I said Cameron and I would watch her. Technically, it was a double man job."

"You are lucky Cameron even found her at the party. Can you imagine what could've happened to her? You are not giving the Hawke nor the Amell family a good reputation."

" _ Fuck  _ reputations, mother. If people have a problem, they can bring their concerns to me."

I rose from the couch and looked at my mother.

"Mom, I'll take care of everything, is that what you want to hear? Is everything better now? Good."

It was a rude way to treat my mother, but it didn't help to hear that apparently I was the root of the family name.

I walked to the bathroom, only to be greeted by Breann's head in the toilet.

"I love smelling puke as I brush my teeth," I joked.

"Shut up," Breann snapped, "I never want to drink ever again."

"That's what I said the first time."

I handed Breann some toilet paper for her to wipe her face. 

Breann looked at me, her eyes becoming watery.

"Sister...I really fucked up last night. I don't want Monday to arrive," tears were now streaming down her face, "I'm going to be the laughing stock of the school. Those seniors said I would be cool if I drank as much as they did. I just wanted to be as popular as you."

I laughed, "Breann, I am not popular. Not even close."

"But everyone likes you! And the people who claim they don't are lying."

"What do they like about me?" I was now curious about the latest Hawke gossip.

"The freshman class thinks you're a badass, the boys think you're hot, and cheerleaders look up to you. You're smart, funny, pretty, tough, and to top it all off, you worked in a drug cartel for a year. You are the mysterious new girl."

I didn't really realize the kids of Kirkwall High talked about me, I was new after all. I figured the whole mysterious part, since I hate to talk about my past, but to think that some people  _ admired _ me, that was what bothered me most.

"I'm not perfect Breann," I told my sister, "No one is. And if one fucking person teases you about Friday, they will have to answer their reasoning to me of why I should not kick their ass."

Breann smiled weakly, her tears seizing.

I left Breann in the bathroom so she could vomit in peace. I found Cameron in the kitchen looking at a  _ Templar Academy _ pamphlet.

"Why do you have that?" I asked. Cameron knew I hated the police.

"It might be a good idea if I joined the police force," Cameron replied, "I mean, after last night, I want nothing to do with that rebellious lifestyle." 

I was shocked. The Kirkwall police, or the  _ Templars _ , were extremely against freedom of speech. If you tried to fight against the Templars, you were asking for a death sentence.

"Well, at least consider graduating high school first," I proposed.

_ Hopefully by then you'll have grown up and see what idiocracy the Templars are. _

Cameron shrugged and kept reading. 

The home telephone started ringing. I picked it up.

"Goooood morning!" Bella's cheerful voice sang, "I'm bored and I want company, get over here."

The phone clicked, which meant I didn't have a chance to say no.

I dressed into a red tank top, black shorts, and black skater shoes. Kirkwall managed to stay hot, even if the sky was beginning to fog and tease hints of rain.

Bella was at the bar when I walked in. She had a mug of ale in front of her.

_ Bella  _ would _ drink this early _ , I thought.

“There’s my favorite rebel!” she cheered. I rolled my eyes.

“What’s the gossip?” I asked my promiscuous friend as I sat next to her at the bar.

“Well, the story is pretty accurate from what happened last night...but…”

I sighed, “Vance.”

“Exactly. He might have added that you fought off a group of seniors from our rival high school in front of your home while holding your sister bridal style.”

“So now I’m even more terrifying.”

Bella raised an eyebrow, “Who said you’re terrifying?”

“Bella, Breann was telling me this morning how I somehow was to K-H this popular mysterious new girl.”

Bella’s eyebrows showed she was in deep thought, “Hmm...I mean, you do have some interesting qualities. A Ferelden who escaped the Darkspawn Blight, then having to work as a thief just to move your way into Kirkwall, and now you are one of the smartest students at K-H. You’re Hawke.”

“Hawke,” I repeated, “That is who I am here, isn’t it?”

“You are also probably the second hottest, sexiest women in Kirkwall.”

“I’m guessing you’re the first?”

“Yep!”

I grinned. It was interesting being alarmed that apparently I was one of the most attractive women in Kirkwall. It was good knowing the news, but now I knew I shouldn’t be wearing tank tops in bars.

“So, that was Sebastian,” Vance said, standing in between Bella and I, “What a funny guy!”

“I can’t believe he came,” I grumbled, “He knew I ran away to Kirkwall. Why did he come all the one from  _ Starhaven _ just for a football afterparty?”

“Oh sweetie.”

“Good Maker, Hawke.”

I was confused, “What is it?”

“He wants you back, dummy,” Bella teased.

“Why else would he travel this far?” Vance included.

I groaned.

_ Just what I fucking need _ , I thought.

“ _ I _ broke up with  _ him _ ,” I explained, “He knows I don’t want him back.”

“Well, better stay close to Andy then,” Bella shrugged, “I doubt that Sebastian guy will come close after experiencing Justice.”

Justice. Andy’s alternate personality. It was interesting, seeing “him” full blown for the first time. I wasn’t necessarily scared of Justice, but I couldn’t help but feel worried of where Andy went when Justice took over.

“After all,  _ everyone _ thinks you two are dating.”

“ _ What?! _ ”

My chair fell backwards as I jumped out of it.

“I do  _ not _ have feelings for Andy! We are  _ just _ friends!”

“Wait a minute,” Vance was beaming, “You wouldn’t happen to be interested in someone else, would you? Perhaps someone who doesn’t talk that much? Someone who isn’t human? A specific elf?”   
I suddenly thought about the race.

“Shit!” I cursed, “What time is it?”

“About half an hour to ten, why?”

“Flynn’s race starts at ten!”

Vance and Bella were grinning like idiots. They tricked me.

“ _ We are finishing this discussion later _ ”, I hissed, “ _ No one hears this. _ ”

I could still hear their laughs when the Hanged Man door shut behind me. 

I hurried as fast as I could to the Hightown track. I was gasping for air when I saw K-H’s logo.

The runners were on the starting line, ending their last stretches when I arrived to the field. Flynn was standing in the middle, looking around, searching for somebody.

“Flynn!” I called out, leaning my body over the fence that blocked the bleachers from the track. He heard my voice, and turned his head to my direction.

He rolled his eyes, but he didn't look displeased to see me.

“Told you I would come!” I yelled. I could feel the eyes from parents of different competitors. I also was distracting most of the competitors themselves.

“On your mark!” a voice barked. A man stood with a gun up in the air, earplugs resting in his ears.

Flynn looked away from me and took his stance. 

“Get set!”

Flynn bent lower. His eyes focused on what was in front of him.

_ Pow! _

The runners were off, the gunshot blast still ringing in my ear.

“Go Flynn!” I cheered, watching him and the rest of the runners disappear off the track.

The three mile race was suppose to travel around Hightown. I followed some parents to where the runners would pass by. I waited next to the stairs in front of the Blooming Rose, looking around for a group of teenage boys.

The group appeared. Flynn was near the front, but he was boxed in by the other boys, refusing him to move forward.

_ Just how good is he? _ I thought.

I waved with both arms, catching his attention.

"I want to see you passing the finish line first!" I yelled. He replied with a nod.

It was time to walk to the next passing point, which was at the town market, where they would circle around to head back to the track.

I saw a figure ahead of all the boys. Very ahead. 

Flynn wasn't even breathing heavily. If anything, it seemed he was taking a casual jog, unlike all the other exhausted red-faced boys behind him.

"You should at least be 200 meters in front," I joked, but after I said that, Flynn picked up his pace.

I ended back at the track, this time standing on the field. I checked my watch.

_ 14 minutes _ , it read.

"Of course," a parent complained, "the elf wins once again."

I looked up to see Flynn coming along the roundabout on the track to sprint the last 100 meters. I looked for other boys, but there were none.

He passed the finish line, breathing only a little faster than usual. He put his hands behind his head, crossing his fingers together.

"That was amazing!" I said. Finally I saw the other boys entering the track, "You were way ahead of the rest!"

"400 meters," he replied, "Double your challenge."

I was surprised. Flynn was very fast. I could assume he was because he was an elf, but at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if his scars were painful or if they felt heavy while he ran.

"Did you time me?," he asked, motioning at my watch. I nodded, and calculated his time.

"14 minutes and 17 seconds," I said, which he replied with a sigh.

"I thought I could do better," he huffed.

"Um, that's a pretty good time for a high schooler," I complimented. He still didn't look happy.

"Anyway," I moved on, "You should go get your medal or ribbon or whatever they give you."

"I'll receive them later," he replied, "For now, I just want to get back to the mansion and shower."

"Is there anything going on later today?"

"Well, Vance is throwing a party at the Hanged Man."

I lifted an eyebrow, "What? Why haven't they told me anything?"

"Well, I just know by guessing, because Vance has done these parties since his freshman year. It's nothing new. He probably just forgot to tell you."

Mr. Colson was looking at his clipboard when he approached Flynn and me, "According to your record Flynn, if you keep this up, you'll be headed to nationals. Not too bad for your first year here."

I was surprised, "You're new to K-H too?"

He shrugged, "Vance and I met halfway through what you would call "sophomore" year. This is my first year attending school. School in general, actually."

"How are you in highschool?"

"The dwarf pulled some strings."

"Of course he did," I mumbled. 

Mr. Colson handed Flynn a water bottle, "I want you running like that in practice."

Flynn chugged the water, crushing the plastic when he was finished.

"Well, I'm probably going to head back to the Hanged Man to study for my Chem test," I said, checking my watch.

"I'll see you there later," Flynn replied. 

Before we parted, I cleared my throat.

"Oh and, um, good job," I stuttered. 

It was around lunchtime when I arrived in Vance's room with my study materials.

"On a Saturday?" Bella questioned, "You need to lay off the books every once in awhile."

"I did last night Bella, and look what happened."

"Coincidence. Nothing more."

I opened my chemistry book and began to fill out the review sheet for the test.

_ Where is Andy when I need him? _ , I thought, struggling on a question.

On cue, a voice made me jump.

"It's just basic yielding," Andy commented. He was leaning over me, setting his hand on the table for support.

"Don't overthink it," he continued, "You'll do fine on the test."

He then moved to sit next to me. I could feel Bella and Vance's teasing stares.

"Um," Andy began, "I'm really sorry that you had to see Justice. That guy just made me so mad. I--"

"Andy, it's okay," I interrupted, "You have a medical condition that is very hard to control. Sebastian deserved it anyway."

Andy rested his hand on mine, which made me instantly uncomfortable.

"I just don't like to see you so angry," he said softly.

I heard a voice clear. Relief filled me.

"Flynn!" I said a lot louder than usual,"He won his cross country competition!"

"How thrilling," Bella murmured, obviously upset that no spark was made between Andy and I.

"Cool," Vance added in the same tone.

"Perfect," Andy made sure to top it off.

Flynn sat on the other side of me, opening his the new AP English book we were reading. At the same time an old homework assignment was used as a bookmark. I was shocked when I saw the grade.

"Flynn," I whispered, "How the Maker do you make an F on a summary paper?"

He shut the book immediately.

"It's not polite to look at other people's grades," he growled.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I wouldn't expect--"

"Don't you have a Chem test to study for?"

There was silence between us. I pulled out my own graded homework, the ninety five in bright red ink.

"You know, Flynn, if you need help, I could always help you. You know, to make up for the Elven tutoring."

"I'm fine," he snapped.

"He's not going to listen," Andy muttered.

I sighed.

_ I just wish we could all get along _ , I thought.

We all worked for about another hour. 

"So is there anything I should know about the party later today Vance?" I asked the dwarf as I gathered my things.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that!" He chirped, "Just bring yourself. I would change though. It can get kind of touchy-touchy in here."

"Got it."

I left the Hanged Man, not in the best of moods.

I face planted into my couch. I was stressed, and all I wanted was a nap.

"When is that Deep Roads trip?" My mother asked.

I groaned. I was not in the mood to talk.

"Autumn break, I've told you this a thousand times."

"Well sometimes I have to be reminded how my eldest daughter has to leave for Autumn break."

"Mom, we don't even celebrate the Autumn dinner. We use to just cook a whole bunch of food, but we're poor, so we can't afford nice high quality food."

My mother sighed, "It's just last year you were gone as well, doing another exchange. It hurts that you won't be here this year either."

"Mom, just leave me alone. Please. You should be happy. I'm out of your hair for a week, and I'm being paid a lot for this."

"Do you even know the story behind Autumn Day?"

"The elves were minding their own business, the Tevinter magisters arrive and pretend to be friendly, then they forced them into slavery. And now we celebrate how we should be grateful."

"You're not thinking about taking the twins, are you?"

"I was thinking Breann."

" _ What? _ " Cameron had been eavesdropping, "I want to go!"

"You need to stay here and take care of mom," I said.

"Breann should be the one to do that! She can't survive in the Deep Roads!"

"Asshole!" Breann insulted, obviously eavesdropping as well, "I can take care of myself!"

"I don't want you taking them," my mother growled. I forced myself off the couch.

"I'm going to have to bring one of them," I said, now sitting upright, "I want somebody by my side. Breann needs to toughen up, but Cameron does know what he's doing."

"Autumn break isn't for another couple of weeks," Breann informed, "You have plenty of time to who you think should come with you."

"Cool, now can my lovely family let me sleep?"

I lowered myself into sleeping position again, and the family members left, leaving me to my nap.

It was around ten o'clock when I started getting ready for Vance's party. I was talking to Bella on the house phone.

"I'm  _ serious _ , Bella!" I exclaimed, "I'm not going to wear a garter belt to a bar party! I don't even own one!"

"How boring," Bella pouted, "Alright, wear those black shorts but change the shirt. I'd go with a black v-neck. You have the breasts for it. You're so prude."

I stopped looking at my clothes, "I am  _ not _ a prude!"

"Well, at least tell me you're not a virgin."

I was silent.

"No," I could see Bella's shocked expression, "Hawke is a  _ virgin _ ?!" 

"Yes, Bella, I am. Are you happy?"

"I'm devastated! I  _ knew _ you were too good to be true! I knew you would have a flaw!"

"Bella, I never got the chance, okay? Sebastian went all "save yourself before marriage" and all my other past relationships were never long enough."

"You've never had a stable relationship?" Bella questioned.

I sighed, "After my dad died, I became the head of the household. I didn't have time to fool around, and when I came into Kirkwall, I was  _ not  _ about to fuck anyone."

"Prude. I'm telling Vance."

" _ Bella... _ "

"Fine, fine, it'll be just be between you and me."

Yes, I was a virgin, which did surprise most people. I just never had the chance, and Sebastian would not do such a thing.

"Okay, I'm settling with black shorts and black v-neck," I studied the clothes as I spoke in the phone, "Is that okay?"

"Darling, black looks dashing on you. Really brings out those sexy eyes of yours. Don't forget a lacy push-up bra!"

"I'll see you in five."

"Extra padding!"

I of course went with my black combat boots. I made wings with liquid eyeliner and added mascara to my eyelashes.

"I'll be at the Hanged Man," I told my mother before I left, "I'll be back late."

"Of course you will," she spat, "Be safe."

When I walked into the Hanged Man, I was shocked by how packed it was. The usually empty bar was filled with K-H students. 

I squeezed my way to Vance's room. He was standing on the long table where we studied.

"Hawke!" He cheered, his eyes bloodshot. I could smell the whiskey breath from where I stood below him. He was proudly holding the whiskey bottle as well.

"You look very nice," he slurred. He held out his whiskey bottle for me to take.

"Thank you Vance," I mocked in his drunken tone, grabbing the liquor.

I lifted my lips to the bottle and drank from it straight. My eyes stung slightly from the strong taste.

I felt someone pinch my butt. As I turned around to face the perv, I instead sighed at Bella's bulging breasts.

"Got ya!" She joked. 

"One day you're going to get slapped," I said. Bella took the whiskey from my hands and drank from it, giving no sign of distaste.

"So I was on the lookout," Bella spoke in my ear, "and I luckily found all three of your boys."

"Three?"

Bella rolled her eyes, "Maker you're clueless." She then grabbed my chin and began to motion my head in different directions.

"Andy," she started. He was talking to his fellow teammates, still celebrating their first win.

"Flynn..."

The elf was leaning against the wall watching Vance shotgunning a beer. He was smoking a joint, most likely Lyrium.

"and that idiotic church boy, Sebastian."

Sebastian, of course, was looking at me. He gave a disappointing stare.

"So, which one to talk to first?" Bella teased, "I wish I had three men all fighting for my affections. I have to juggle five."

I could be protected by Andy, but risk more flirting, be comfortable but suffer awkwardness with Flynn, or finally confront Sebastian and tell him to leave me alone.

I sighed, "Gotta tell the ex to stop stalking me."

"That's the spirit!" Bella chirped, "I'll distract the other two if they try to interrupt."

I nodded thanks, and made my way to Sebastian.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my tone not so kind.

"I thought you would be here," he replied, "hanging out with these trashy people."

I grabbed Sebastian's arm and led him outside the Hanged Man. I walked around the corner.

"Do  _ not _ insult my friends," I warned, "I'm finally happy. I've moved on, and I don't understand why you came all this way just to see me."

"I...I was hoping you could give me another chance," he hesitated, "I care about you so much. I might even be..."

_ Please don't say it, _ I thought.

"...in  _ love _ with you."

"Well I don't love you," I spat.

It was hurtful, but I needed to be rid of this man once and for all.

"You're with that other guy, aren't you? The one who almost choked me to death."

"What?! Maker, no. He's one of my best friends."

"So who are you interested in then?"

"No one! I like being single!"

Sebastian then did something that surprised me.

He kissed me.

It was soft, not too eager. When he pulled back his breath was shaky.

I missed that old feeling. The gentle hold Sebastian had over me. How much it hurt when I dumped him. It had been over a year, but the old feeling returned when his lips connected with mine.

"Stay away from me," I growled.

"Maureen--"

"It’s Hawke!" I shouted.

I stormed back into the Hanged Man.

I found Bella sitting at the bar.

"How did it go?" She asked.

"Um, okay."

"Ah, I see. So now comes the hard decision. Andy, or Flynn? The struggle is real... _ or _ we could just get fucked up and have a girls night."

"That sounds much better," I replied.

I received ecstasy from Ava (paying me back for ditching me at the Blooming Rose), and Bella seduced some men into buying us shots.

I was soon ballroom dancing with Bella around Vance's table. I'm pretty sure she tried to kiss me at least twice, which I quickly avoided by having her kisses land on my cheek.

I felt a little woozy, the spinning not being friendly. Bella and I separated and realized how much we were sweating.

"Gross," I commented.

"Indeed," she added.

We sat at the edge of Vance's table until the party began to clear out. Beer was soaking into the hardwood floors.

Bella and I helped Vance to his bed, and next thing we know, Vance decided we should sleep on either side of him.

So there we were, lying on Vance's bed, staring at the ceiling.

Mary soon came around and Vance also asked her to join, squeezing her next to Bella. Even Avery, who had been watching to make sure no bar fights broke out, lied across the bed, keeping enough distance from our feet.

I froze when I felt a warm body rest next to mine. The joint was held above me, ready to grab. I took a long hit, and this time I didn't cough too hard.

I could hear Andy sigh and move his way to lie next to Mary.

The whole gang was together.

"This is nice," Vance spoke in the silence.

"I agree," I added.

We all fell asleep together.

  
  



End file.
